An Identity
by FG100
Summary: Teddy Lupin knew there were many things people saw when they looked at him. He knew there were many things he hadn't been told and there were many questions he was too scared to ask. However if he were to discover his true identity, Teddy knew he would have to uncover the mysteries of the past and come to terms with his true feelings about his present and his future.
1. Chapter 1

For as long as he could remember, Teddy had been taken to Victoire's house on her birthday. For a long time there was never an actual birthday party, it was just him and Victoire, and then Dominique, playing as normal. Even odder was the fact that none of the other Weasleys were there; just Fleur, her parents and her sister, Victoire's Aunt Gabrielle. As the years passed and the number of Weasley children increased, Fleur began to organise party games and food, all in a rigorous schedule that was insistent on them all having fun. However, as he grew older, Teddy couldn't help but notice that her smile was fixed and her eyes constantly flicked to the clock on the mantelpiece, where the hand inscribed 'Bill' pointed to 'Important Business'.

When the adult Weasleys, Harry and his grandmother did eventually turn up later on in the day, laden with gifts and compliments for the birthday girl, they too had the same fixed look as Fleur, their smiles seemed slightly forced and his grandmother and Molly often looked as if they had been crying. George was never their either. Charlie would turn up all the way from Romania, but George always seemed to be busy at the shop.

And so Victoire's birthday became another of the 'great mysteries' that Teddy became accustomed to living with. There were so many times when the adults went silent as he walked into a room or their conversation rapidly changed that Teddy knew they were concealing things from him. Victoire confirmed similar experiences within her own family and so they created a notebook entitled 'The Great Mysteries', in which they would record all of the oddities that they had yet to make sense of.

They knew about the war of course and that terrible things had happened, but many of the details were rather sketchy and finding out more was proving to be a rather arduous task. Teddy was sick of hearing the words 'you're too young', but any protests to find out more fell on deaf ears. Victoire and Teddy therefore came to rely on the notebook to make note of any snippets of conversation or small discoveries, or to record the rare occasion when an adult actually bothered to tell them something. Whenever one of them had discovered something of interest, they would find the next possible opportunity to scurry away and scrutinise their findings.

Teddy had just turned nine when the mystery of Victoire's birthday was solved. It had been a stranger year than most because it was the first time that George had made an appearance with the rest of the adults. Teddy had been heading towards the kitchen to get a drink when the sound of raised voices coming from outside stopped him. Casually glancing through the window he saw Ginny and George. Why were they arguing?

"Don't you think I know this isn't what he would have wanted? I thought that I was getting better, I thought I could do it this year."

Getting better? Was George ill? Teddy suddenly felt worried. George was one of the best Weasleys to hang out with; he always had a joke to share or an exciting new invention to show off. He chanced another peek out of the window. That couldn't be right. He looked again. Was George crying? George didn't cry. He was always laughing. He owned a joke shop. Surely happy was the only emotion George was capable of? There was nothing for it. He was going to have to get Victoire.

"He's definitely crying," Victoire summarised, a few minutes later.

"About what?"

"It's got to be about whatever they do on my birthday, hasn't it? Haven't you noticed that Grandma always looks like she's been crying when she gets back?"

"I know, but how will we ever find out what it is? Shall we put something down in the notebook?"

Victoire looked straight at him, her eyes blazing. Teddy had a feeling what was going to come next. Victoire tossed her hair, in the way her mother did when she had made her mind up about something. "No. We're going to ask them." And with that she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen.

Bill, who had been chatting to Ron and Charlie, looked over to his daughter.

"You okay, princess?"

"No." Victoire's voice was firm. "There's something we need to know. Where do you go each year on my birthday?"

The three men looked at each other. Ron choked down his mouthful of Butterbeer, his eyes wide. None of them spoke. The room suddenly seemed deathly quiet and the laughs of the other children so far away.

"Well?" Victoire demanded, once again adopting her mother's tone.

Teddy suddenly felt very nervous. Surely if anyone wanted them to know what happened on the 2nd May, they would have told them already? What if Bill got mad at them? What if Ron told Harry? What if he told his grandmother?

"You...you...you don't have to tell us, not if you don't want to," he stuttered.

"Teddy!" Victorie hissed.

Bill surveyed them carefully. "It's okay. I think you're old enough to be told now. It shouldn't have to be a secret. May 2nd, your birthday Victoire, is also the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts...the day the war ended. There's a special ceremony held every year that we go to."

If Victoire was shocked by the revelation, she didn't show it. "Surely it's a happy day then?" she quizzed. "So why does everyone look so sad?"

Teddy noticed that Ron and Charlie both averted their eyes, becoming incredibly interested in their fingernails.

"A lot of people died that day," Bill said calmly, "including lots of our friends and our brother Fred." His eyes flicked to a picture that hung on the kitchen wall, in which six red headed boys pushed and shoved each other, all seeming determined not to stand next to their sister."That's why everyone, especially George, finds it such a difficult day."

Teddy found the idea of a battle incredibly hard to imagine. He couldn't understand why people needed to be fighting or would want to kill each other. Surely Fred wasn't that old, how could he end up being dead? There again, his parents weren't old either. He thought of the clipped phrase his grandmother used when she spoke about them; 'they died in the war'.

"Is that when my parents died too?" he asked quietly.

An odd look passed between Bill and Charlie.

"Yes," Charlie's voice croaked. "They fought so hard, so bravely, but there were just so many death eaters...I'm sorry Teddy."

Teddy felt Charlie's large, strong hand squeeze his shoulder before he walked from the room.

"What are death eaters?" piped up Victoire.

Teddy tried to ignore the hollow feeling inside of him and listen to Bill's reply, but all he could think about were the two people whose photos stared down at him from the walls at home. For the first time he imagined their bodies lying motionless on the floor as jets of light shot above them. They weren't old enough to die. Why did they have to go and fight in a battle? Why didn't they stay at home with him? He thought about Victoire and how she would arrive at the Burrow held tightly in Bill's arms, how Fleur would fuss over her and whisper in her ear, making her giggle and how she would pull Dominique and Louis close and read them a story. He felt a stab of jealousy then, that they had parents that loved them, parents that came home and were there to tuck them in at night, to tell them they loved them. They were a family, a proper family. Why did his parents have to go and die in a battle? Why didn't they stay to love him instead?

That evening, Teddy's grandmother seemed to hug him tighter than normal before he went up to bed.

"I know what Bill told you today," she said quietly, still not quite letting him go. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

Teddy looked into her dark eyes, which were full of concern. He had thought of little else but his parents ever since the conversation a few hours ago. Now he was safe in his grandmother's arms he felt as if he could let his guard down; he didn't have to be brave like he did in front of Victoire. His bottom lip started to wobble and a single tear fell down his cheek. "Why did they go to fight and leave me? Why didn't they stay with me instead?"

"Oh, Teddy." His grandmother pulled him even closer and kissed his head softly. "They never wanted to leave you. They wanted to make the world a safe place for you to grow up in. So many terrible things were happening, every day we dreaded hearing the next piece of bad news. They knew they couldn't bring up a child in a world like that. Your parents believed that the world could be a better place and were strong and brave enough to do something about it. They never wanted to go and leave you Teddy and they desperately wanted to return home to you...they would have given anything to return home to you...but it wasn't meant to be."

She ran her fingers lovingly through his hair and carefully studied his face, before leading him to the window and pointing to the stars that were starting to appear in the sky.

"Don't ever think they're not looking down on you Teddy. They are out there somewhere, with your grandfather and Sirius, and they are all so proud of you, of what a beautiful boy you have grown up to be."

Teddy stared fiercely at the stars, keeping his eyes wide to stop the tears that threatened to flow. His grandmother had taught him to recognise the familiar patterns were appearing in the sky and silently he recited the names she had given to them. Ursa major. Ursa minor. Cassiopeia.

He thought back to what Bill had said earlier. The 2nd of May was the day that the war had ended. His parents, and so many others, had made the world a better place. Bad things didn't happen anymore because of what they did.

"I want today, Victoire's birthday, to be a happy day...to be a day when we think about how life got better," Teddy said, pulling his grandmother close again and snuggling in her robes. "It did get better, didn't it? I don't want to grow up feeling sad."

Teddy wasn't old enough to notice the signs of a lifetime's anguish hidden behind his grandmother's eyes, but he recognised the truthfulness and relief in her words as she whispered back to him. "You make everything better, Teddy."

A/N: I hope it doesn't seem too odd that Bill ended up telling Teddy about the Battle of Hogwarts. In my headcannon there would have been lots of conversations amongst the adults about what, how and when to tell the children and I can see them agreeing that it was better to address the questions as they were asked, rather than the sitting them down for a proper talk about it.

This fic will cover a number of moments as Teddy grows up, discovering his past and finding out who he really is.

Disclaimer: Teddy Lupin and the magical world all belong to J.K. Rowling.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is another chapter of moments about Teddy's childhood. It will develop into slightly more flowing chapters after this one, there were just various bits of background I wanted to include so that I can build upon them in future chapters.

As previously stated, all characters belong to J.K.R.

The next time Teddy saw Victoire, she had filled out three pages of her notebook with her findings about Death Eaters.

"Weren't you listening to Bill?" she queried, seeming almost annoyed when he had shown surprise at the extent of her knowledge. On more careful digging however, it seemed that Victoire had quizzed anyone and everyone she saw about the topic. Whilst this had initially been a great way of fact finding, the consequences had been rather dire; when he realised what a nuisance she had been about the whole thing, Bill had sent her to bed without any of her Grandma Weasley's delicious chocolate cake.

Teddy imagined there had been lots of screaming and shouting at this point. Victoire's tempers were greatly feared amongst the other Weasleys. It would be foolish to even mention them in front of her though.

"Dad tried to take away my toys too, but they appeared back in my room as soon as he'd left," Victorie stated smugly. "I could hear him downstairs debating with Percy whether he should be mad at me or pleased with such an impressive piece of underage magic."

Teddy felt slightly jealous. Victoire always seemed to be doing magic. Although he had learnt to change his hair colour at will and could sometimes change the shape of his nose, his other experiences of magic had been rather limited.

"What did you find out about Death Eaters anyway?" he said gruffly.

Victoire looked at him darkly. "We'd better go and find somewhere else to discuss it, Teddy. I don't think most of this is appropriate for the ears of children." She shot a look at Dominique, who was pushing James on the swing nearby, then scampered off across the garden.

By the time he got home, Teddy was feeling a little bamboozled. Words like Death Eater, Azkaban, Dementor, Voldemort and unforgivable curses were rolling round and round in his head. Victoire had done her research well. The 'bad wizard' that the adults sometimes talked about had a name, Voldemort, and an army of Death Eaters. They didn't just kill people, but tortured them too with 'unforgivable curses'. Apparently straight after the war, Harry, along with Ron and Neville, had been responsible for rounding them up and sending them to Azkaban. Teddy rubbed his head. It was great that Victoire had found out this stuff, but it wasn't the same as someone actually telling them. They weren't little children anymore, they could handle it. Besides, his parents had died in the war, didn't he deserve to know what they had been fighting about?

Most of what he did know Teddy had found out completely by accident.

When he was about four, he had been in Diagon Alley with his grandmother when a wizard had pulled out his wand and started screaming at her. Terrified, Teddy had hidden himself in his grandmother's robes, where she gripped him tightly.

"I am not Bellatrix," she had stated quite calmly. "It's okay, she's dead. I'm sorry to say she was my sister."

The man remained silent. Teddy was puzzled. He didn't even know his grandmother had a sister. Bellatrix. What an interesting name.

"Who did she...?" His grandmother enquired.

"My wife."

"I'm sorry."

"Your daughter was the Auror, wasn't she?"

Teddy felt his grandmother's arm grip him even tighter than before.

"Yes," she replied sharply. "Now if you don't mind, I really need to carry on with my shopping. I'm sorry for your loss. Come on Teddy." With that, she had dragged him, quickly, away.

Later that afternoon, Teddy had brought up the woman's strange name. His grandmother froze and the colour drained from her face.

"I don't want to talk about her, Teddy dear. She wasn't a very nice person. I hadn't spoken to her for years before she died." She ran her fingers through his hair, which oddly Teddy remembered was bright blue that day, and walked stiffly from the room.

He heard the name Bellatrix from time to time after that, when the adults thought he wasn't listening. There was a page devoted to her in the notebook. It simply said: Bellatrix (Black). Nan's sister. Pureblood. Evil. Dead.

He found out about the Black family when his grandmother was looking for some paperwork one day. She had uncovered some photos of her wedding day and Teddy was enjoying watching the smiling, waving guests, especially a young man with dark hair who kept pulling funny faces. Underneath the photos was a curled up piece of parchment. Teddy unrolled it and read the names: Edward Tonks and Andromeda Black.

"Who are the Blacks? Are they related to Sirius?"

Teddy thought of all of the stories that Harry had told him about his godfather.

Adromeda reached forward for the photo Teddy had been looking at. "That's Sirius just there." She motioned to the man pulling faces. He was my favourite cousin...the only member of my family who came to my wedding." Seeing Teddy's confused expression she continued.

"Black was my name before I was married. I didn't fit in very well with my family. They were a group of pureblood fanatics. I didn't really get it; I couldn't see how someone's blood status could determine what sort of witch or wizard they were. They didn't approve of me marrying your grandfather so they stopped speaking to me."

Teddy stared at her, his mouth wide.

"I didn't mind Teddy. I never wanted to go back to living with them after I left Hogwarts anyway. I hated being amongst their purist ideas."

At the time, Teddy didn't really understand what she was saying. Didn't everyone have the same type of blood? All he knew was that his grandmother was very brave to have got away from her evil sounding family. The name Black was another piece of evidence that got filed in the notebook, on the page next to Bellatrix. Blacks. Pureblood. Don't like muggles. Related to Sirius.

The most significant conversation Teddy's grandmother had with him occurred a few months before he left for Hogwarts.

Teddy had been staring at the photo of his parents that hung on his bedroom wall. There were lots of photos of them around the house, but this one was Teddy's favourite. In it, his mum's hair changed from bubblegum pink to purple to blonde curls to Weasley red to her natural brown. (All of her favourite styles, his grandmother had said.) She grinned madly, as if she couldn't quite stop laughing, and her arms clutched around his dad's shoulders. She wore a ripped Weird Sisters t-shirt and a leather jacket. The first time Dominique had seen the photo, she had declared his mum to be the essence of cool. In contrast his dad looked serene, with greying hair and a plain shirt, the smallest smile evident on his face, as if he couldn't quite believe he was really there. Apparently the photo had been taken the day after they were married.

Next to the photo, The Order of Merlin hung proudly, a constant reminder of his father's bravery. Teddy would spend hours staring at these two relics of his parents, his mind exploring the memories he imagined existed and the opportunities they had lost.

In his current daydream, Teddy's mum was helping him to pack his Hogwarts trunk. He jumped slightly as his grandmother walked into the room. She sat down on the bed, motioning for Teddy to join her.

"There's something I need to tell you Teddy...about your dad."

Something about the look in her eyes made Teddy feel nervous. He suddenly thought of what Victoire had been saying about Death Eaters. She wasn't about to say his father was one of them, was she? Hadn't Victoire been saying that some people they thought were good turned out to be Death Eaters? Or was it the other way around? Some Death Eaters turned out to be good?

"He was a good man, wasn't he? My dad?" Teddy's voice wavered.

"He was a very good man Teddy," Andromeda reassured. "He would have done anything for you and your mother. There is something you need to know about him though, something that may shock you. I don't want it to change your opinion of him but..."

Teddy felt a sudden urge to put his hands over his ears. Whatever she was about to say, it didn't sound good. He liked the image of his dad he had already. He didn't need to know anything new about him.

"...he was a werewolf."

A werewolf? Teddy felt a strange sensation inside him, like he had fallen from a great height. A werewolf? He didn't know whether to be disgusted or fascinated. Werewolves were evil creatures weren't they? They were the villains in story books who crept up on children in their beds at night, who lurked in the shadows on Halloween. Yet, they were cool as well; powerful and mystical and strong. Still, he wasn't sure how safe it would be to live with one.

"Did my mum..." Teddy began.

"Yes, she knew, and she loved him anyway. He wasn't like the werewolves you might expect, he wanted to be safe and he wanted to help people. That's why he got the Order of Merlin, because he was so brave, because he tried to convert other werewolves to be on the right side in the war."

"Oh, that's good. And he never bit anyone?"

"No, never. There is a potion called Wolfsbane that he took, that made him safe."

Teddy felt relieved for a moment, until another thought struck him.

"I'm not going to turn into a werewolf, am I?"

Andromeda ran her hands lightly through his turquoise hair. "No dear, you're not. That was always your father's greatest fear. You took after your mother instead."

Teddy snuggled up to her. If it was okay with his mother, then it was okay with him. "I don't think I mind that he's a werewolf. I think it's quite cool."

Andromeda smiled. "You're so much like your mother."

The thought made Teddy smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Teddy kept the knowledge of his father's condition to himself. He wasn't ashamed of what his father was, he knew enough stories to recognise that he had been a brave and brilliant man, it was just that he didn't want there to be something else that made him 'different'. He was already the boy with no parents, the boy who lived with his grandmother, the boy whose hair unexpectedly changed colour...he didn't need anything else to set him apart.

It felt slightly wrong, not telling Victoire. It wasn't that he didn't want to, he just wasn't sure quite how to bring it up. He had tried a few times, but lost his nerve before the words were properly out of his mouth. Of course, she knew that he was keeping something from her. Why wouldn't she? They had always told each other everything. Victoire had been his only playmate until Dominique had been old enough to join in their games. They had spent so much time together that a natural closeness formed between them; often they knew exactly what each other was thinking with just a look. Whereas Teddy could find the other children young and annoying, Victoire had always been so mature for her age that it didn't seem like there was any age difference between them.

The last few times they were together she had watched him closely, trying to solve the puzzle of what was going on. She had gone as far as to ask whether he had been told something new about his parents, but upon his confirmation had left it at that. As forthright and bold as she was, she was also intelligent enough to recognise when a matter didn't need to be pushed and so an unspoken understanding remained between them that he would tell her in his own time. Teddy couldn't help but think that it wouldn't be that long until he was at Hogwarts, where he wouldn't be able to share all of his secrets with her. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to cope without his closest confident. She had assured him that she would write every day, but he knew it wouldn't be the same.

He was developing an awareness of time that had never existed before. The days no longer stretched out before him, seen only as endless opportunities for play and adventure; instead each one now existed as a countdown until his life changed forever. With the arrival of his Hogwarts letter imminent, Teddy knew he would soon be facing a completely different world, far away from his grandmother, Harry and the Weasleys.

It wasn't that he didn't feel excited about Hogwarts; he couldn't wait to see the castle and discover all of its secrets. It would be great to be around people of his own age and he was really looking forward to learning proper magic. At the same time, he knew he would miss everyone terribly. Also, he was so used to living just with his grandmother; he wasn't sure how he felt about having to share a dormitory with others. What if they started asking questions about his family? Those close to him knew about all of his..differences...but letting someone new in was a different matter entirely.

It was only early Spring, but things were already starting to feel different. Since asking _that_ question on her birthday two years ago, Victoire had put the wheels in motion for change. They weren't pushed out of rooms quite so often and occasionally snippets of information were given voluntarily, without them having to pry. Last year had been the Tenth Anniversary Memorial Service, which the adults decided they were old enough to attend. Teddy found the whole experience rather surreal; hearing his parents names read out in monotone by a complete stranger, their deeds commended by someone who had never even met them. Meanwhile, a number of people from the Ministry had openly gawped at him and speculated about 'how his life had turned out' a little too loudly. Harry assured him it wasn't always like that; it was only because it was a 'special' anniversary. Still, he felt reluctant to return to the ceremony this year.

These thoughts had started keeping him awake at night. Counting the stars on the ceiling in his small bedroom at the Potter's house wasn't helping. Not only was his mind preoccupied, but his room was directly above the kitchen, where Harry and Ginny's voices had been getting progressively louder for the last ten minutes. Initially Teddy had tried to ignore them, but then he heard his name mentioned. They were arguing about him. With that established it became impossible to block them out; instead he began trying desperately to catch every word. At the volume they had currently reached however, it wasn't hard. He was amazed they hadn't woken Lily.

"You need to tell him. Before he goes to Hogwarts," Ginny proclaimed.

"He's not old enough."

"He'll find things out when he's there. Everybody else will know more about things than he does."

"But he's too young. He wouldn't understand."

"How many people said that to you? How many people did you rant and rave about for saying exactly the same thing...for only telling you half a story? You're doing exactly the same thing to him. If you don't tell him things, he'll go looking elsewhere for answers, just like you did. Even Ron says –"

"Since when do you and Ron get any say in how he's raised?" Harry cut in sharply.

"Oh, you're impossible!"

Teddy winced as Ginny came thundering up the stairs. His mind was racing. What wasn't Harry telling him that Ginny thought he should?

Even after his grandmother's revelation about his father, he knew there were still many secrets that were being kept from him. He had come to presume that most of these mysteries would remain just that until he was much older. What would other students at Hogwarts know that he didn't? He wished that Victoire was there, she would be very interested in this turn of events.

Victoire...Teddy thought of how boldly she had marched into her father and demanded information about what happened on her birthday. Maybe this was his time to be brave? There were too many secrets, too many mysteries...why shouldn't he know about them?

Mind made up, he swung himself out of bed and tiptoed across the room, closing his hand around the door handle. He hesitated. Should he? He could hear Ginny brushing her teeth in the bathroom next door. Obviously she thought it was important. Hadn't she said Harry himself would have wanted to know? He ran his thumb over the indentation in the metal. Ginny was leaving the bathroom now; there wouldn't be any risk of bumping into her. Slowly he pulled back the door and put one foot in front of the other.

He could see the moon, round and bright, shining in through the landing window. It gave him enough light to creep down the stairs.

The bottom stair gave an almighty creak.

Instantly, Harry swung around, his hand going straight to his pocket.

"Teddy?" Harry hastily shoved his wand away.

"I...er..."

"Sorry, you made me jump. I thought all of you kids were asleep and I wasn't expecting to see Ginny down here again." A look of realisation dawned on his face. "You heard that, didn't you? Me and Ginny?"

Teddy looked down at his feet, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"She was right right, as usual."

Teddy looked up at his Godfather, surprised. Rather than being annoyed, as he'd expected, Harry was smiling at him.

"I didn't want her to be, but she is. We have so much in common Teddy, more than you can ever realise. I know what it's like to feel like you know nothing about your life. Ginny hit the nail on the head; I used to hate it when people insisted on treating me like a child, when the war had cost me far more than it had most of them. I do think you're too young to know Teddy, but I know how being told that feels. How about this; I promise I will tell you as much as I can, as much as you're old enough to understand."

Teddy frowned at Harry. Hadn't he just said...

"You're only eleven. There are some things that you shouldn't know yet. But I will tell you those too, as soon as you're old enough."

"You'll tell me now?" Teddy asked hopefully.

Harry chuckled. "It's a bit late to start telling stories now, but next weekend you can come to stay again."

...

And so the following weekend Teddy found himself sat in the Potter's lounge with his grandmother, Harry and Ginny. James, Al and Lily had all been shipped off to Ron and Hermione's for the day so that they could have 'a proper chance to talk'.

Harry coughed uncomfortably as he realised that everyone in the room was staring at him. Ginny squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "Go on Harry, this is your story. The true story. It's better he hears it from you than getting some twisted codswallop fed to him from someone else."

Harry nodded. "Well, I guess it all began when I was a baby..."

Teddy's eyes never left Harry, eagerly anticipating all he had to say. Although he thought he had pieced together the most important details about the war, he could never have imagined all that Harry told him.

He had heard Harry called the 'Boy Who Lived' before, but he never realised all that he had gone through in the years leading up to final battle. He never knew what had happened when Harry was only a baby or that he became 'The Chosen One' because of a prophecy. He had always assumed Harry's defeat of Voldemort to be a chance happening, that it had been his wand that cast the final curse amidst a battle involving many others. The idea that the battle between the two of them had been pre-determined, that the defeat of the darkest wizard of all time should fall solely into the hands of his godfather...if anyone had been telling him this story other than Harry, he wasn't sure he would have believed them.

On occasion Ginny or his grandmother added an extra detail, or Teddy interrupted to ask a question but for the most part they sat in silence, listening intently to Harry's words. What made it even more shocking was that Harry had gone through everything whilst he was still at Hogwarts, without any particular guidance. Teddy had always presumed that Harry had been given lots of training to prepare for the war, so the knowledge that it had been mostly self-taught was shocking, as was the fact that he had been training his own army of students to help the cause.

He felt a new found respect for Harry. He had always been a cool godfather but now Teddy realised that he was absolutely epic! He also recognised how much Harry played down his fame; although people often came up to Harry when they were out and about in the wizarding world (and Teddy now realised they were admiring fans), Harry was an expert at getting rid of them almost immediately, so that Teddy had never really realised that anything was going on. He was pretty sure that Harry could go up to any witch or wizard and demand anything he wanted, but he never did. He just wanted a quiet life. Teddy thought that if he were a famous wizard, he would at least try and get free sweets every now again, but that was another matter.

...

Teddy ran straight upstairs when he arrived home that evening and started madly throwing things out of his drawer. His mind was still whirling. Aha! He pulled forward a box with a model dragon set on the lid. The box had been a gift from Charlie; the dragon on top a Hungarian Horntail. For some reason Harry and Fleur had found this highly amusing when he had opened it. Inside were all of Teddy's most important possessions. He picked through the photos, letters and trinkets until he found what he was looking for. Three smiling faces, younger than the ones he was now familiar with, looked up at him.

Teddy smiled, thinking back to the day Ron had turned up with boxes and boxes full of Chocolate Frogs, insisting they eat them all until they had found his, Harry and Hermione's cards. Hermione had been mortified at her husband's chocolate consumption, not least because her parents were coming round for dinner that evening. Harry had to take Teddy home before the arguing got too explosive.

It turned out that the three of them were to receive an official minted copy of the cards, but Ron had gifted his to Teddy, saying that he was much happier with the ones he had discovered 'naturally'; he felt like they fit much better into his collection.

Teddy carefully read the back of the golden cards, linking the words to his new understanding of events. They hadn't just helped to defeat Voldemort, they had been the ones who made it all possible. His godfather was probably the most famous person alive in the wizarding world. He vaguely wondered if they would learn about him at Hogwarts. Wouldn't that be strange? Maybe there were books about him in the library! Teddy felt a surge of pride. Just wait until he told Victoire! She'd never believe her ears...

A/N: I had trouble writing this one, partially because I couldn't get the timings right (if you're confused, this all happens about 6 months before Teddy goes to Hogwarts) and because I found it really hard to summarise all that Harry did in the war in a few paragraphs. Also, Victoire kept butting in and trying to steal the show, completely failing to listen to the fact that it's supposed to be all about Teddy. This led to lots of chopping out and saving for a later date... I'm thinking I might need to give her a fic of her own just to keep her quiet...Teddy will be off to Hogwarts in the next chapter though, so hopefully she will stop badgering me there.

Disclaimer: the wizarding world and all of its inhabitants come from a mind far more creative than mine.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time he was ready to start at Hogwarts, Teddy had become fairly skilled as a metamorphmagus. Those who saw him frequently were used to him turning up with different coloured hair or eyes or occasionally a different nose. It was never a skill he had taken very seriously and he certainly never cared what he looked like; instead he preferred experimenting with different guises or mimicking the features of those he was spending time with.

However in the month leading up to his arrival at Hogwarts, Teddy started spending increasingly lengthy amounts of time in front of the mirror, trying to decide upon his 'Hogwarts look'. The mirror was most unhelpful, making comments like "way too scruffy" or "you can't go out looking like that", yet Teddy was determined that his fellow students should see him at his coolest. It wasn't until Ginny caught him on one afternoon in late August (leading to much red faced embarrassment) that Teddy considered he might be going a little overboard.

"Just be yourself," Ginny had offered casually, whilst almost pretending she hadn't noticed what he was doing.

But that in itself was the problem, Teddy decided. At the grand old age of eleven and a bit, Teddy Lupin had absolutely no idea who he was.

He was never short of people to tell him, of course. "You're Harry Potter's godson, aren't you, the one whose parents died in the Battle of Hogwarts? You're the orphan. Your mother was an auror and a metamorphmagus, your father taught at Hogwarts for a time. Then everyone found out he was a werewolf. He must have been brave though, he was awarded the Order of Merlin. You live with your grandmother, and isn't she the sister of Bellatrix Lestrange?"

Godson. Orphan. Metamorphmagus. Auror. Professor. Werewolf. Death Eater.

Teddy turned the words over and over in his head. There were so many labels, so many things people saw when they looked at him...but he wondered whether anyone would ever see past all of that and appreciate him for who he was, not the stories that surrounded him.

So that was why, as he studied himself in his bedroom mirror for the last time before leaving for Hogwarts, Teddy abandoned every cool image he had considered and appeared in his natural form.

As he followed his grandmother, who was levitating his trunk down the stairs, he thought back to the conversation he had with Harry the previous evening.

...

Ginny had made spaghetti bolognaise with garlic bread for tea, Teddy's favourite. They talked animatedly all through the meal, discussing everything and anything related to Hogwarts.

"What time do you want me to meet you at Kings Cross tomorrow?" Harry asked suddenly.

Teddy took a deep breath. He'd been dreading this moment all night. "Er, I've been thinking...I think it might be best if I just go with my Gran tomorrow...I don't want...I know you want to come but...people can get really excited when they see you and I'll be meeting people for the first time and...and I don't want them to see me as Harry Potter's godson, I just want to be Teddy Lupin." The words came out in a confused tumble. Teddy winced slightly, hoping he hadn't caused offence.

If Harry was offended, he did a good job of concealing it. "Of course, you're right. It would be much better if you just go with Andromeda. Last thing you want is any kind of frenzy. It will be nice to spend some time with this lot anyway, it's not often I get time off at the minute."

"You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. Look, Teddy, I want you to be happy. I want Hogwarts to be the best experience of your life. I don't want anyone or anything to ruin tomorrow for you, especially not me getting hounded by some past-their-sell-by-date fan club on the platform." Harry laughed and Ginny rolled her eyes. "You'd have thought they'd be over it by now, wouldn't you, but apparently being the 'Chosen One' sticks with you for life. I hated being so well known at Hogwarts, and I definitely don't want to push that stigma onto you too."

"Did I ever tell you," Harry began, obviously looking to lighten the conversation "that I made friends with Ron on that very first train journey to Hogwarts. Molly told me how to get through the barrier and then we ended up sitting in the same compartment. Who knows what would have happened if it had been somebody else...maybe I'd have avoided getting stuck with this one."

Teddy laughed as Ginny swatted Harry playfully on the arm.

It was a lovely final evening with the Potters, as they continued to share their Hogwarts memories and offer him advice for the following months. James and Albus refused to go to bed until Teddy had read them a bedtime story and he even spent some time amusing Lily, morphing his hair from one colour to another, as she lay in her cot and giggled up at him.

All too soon though, it was time to leave. Teddy felt his first real pang of nerves as he said goodbye to Harry. Ginny respectfully gave them a moment by going to settle the now very excited Lily. Although there had been worries before, the excitement had always taken over.

"You know you'll have a brilliant time, don't you Teddy. And if anything is wrong, you can send an owl anytime you like, to me or your Grandmother. Your head of house will always be there for you, or any of the other staff, and Neville will keep an extra special eye out for you."

Teddy nodded. "What should I do if someone asks about my parents?" he voiced the concern that had been growing for a long while.

"Your parents were incredible people, Teddy. They died fighting for the noblest cause. Don't ever be ashamed to talk about what happened or who they were. Besides, there will be many more students who lost family members in the war. Don't think you're alone in this." Harry ruffled Teddy's hair affectionately. "You've been luckier than me Teddy, you have been brought up by many people that love you. But when you get to Hogwarts, when you start making friends there and going to lessons together, eating together, sharing a dorm, you'll find that those friends become like family too. Being at Hogwarts made me feel like I really belonged somewhere and some of my happiest memories are from my time there."

Harry's words were similar to those Teddy had heard from various people over the last few weeks, but they did help to reassure him.

Harry glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Crikey, I didn't realise that was the time. Come on, we'd better get going." He took a handful of Floo Powder and threw it into the fire.

Teddy took one last, appreciative look around the Potter's familiar lounge and they were off.

...

Teddy's grandmother jumped up quickly when he and Harry stepped out from the fireplace.

"Oh Teddy, you're back. I was getting worried; I was expecting you ages ago."

Harry looked sheepish. "Sorry Andromeda, the kids didn't want to let him go. You know what they're like...anyway, I won't stop. I'll be in touch later on tomorrow..."

The two exchanged a look that Teddy couldn't quite read. Before he had chance to wonder about it though, Harry had pulled him into one final hug. "Have a fantastic time and remember, anything you need, just get in touch. However small a thing it might be."

He ruffled Teddy's hair again and then he was gone. Teddy stared after him, a peculiar feeling in his stomach.

"I don't know why Harry has kept you so long, it's rather late," his grandmother was fussing. "You've got such a busy day tomorrow."

Although she was smiling, on closer inspection Teddy noticed that her face looked rather red. Her eyes failed to meet his and he couldn't help but wonder if she had been crying while he had been out.

"It will go really quickly to Christmas, won't it?" he asked quickly.

"Of course!" She gave him a bracing smile.

The thought suddenly struck Teddy that he really was the only person she had. Of course she had her friends, but he was her only family. He hoped she wouldn't be too lonely.

"Now, you really must go to bed. We've got to be up early."

She continued to fuss as Teddy got himself ready for bed, hurrying him along at every opportunity. Finally satisfied, she kissed him goodnight and retreated. However, Teddy lay awake for a long while after she had gone.

...

"Go on then dear, you go first. You know what to do."

Teddy took a deep breath and ran at the barrier. The thud he was expecting never came. Instead, he was met with the hubbub of Platform 9 ¾. Wisps of steam clouded the air, making him cough slightly. He blinked a few times to regain focus. The platform was packed with students and their families; a sea of unfamiliar faces. To his right, a tall boy was proudly puffing out his chest and Teddy couldn't help but notice the shining Head Boy badge pinned there. Two younger boys ran past, chasing a cat, whilst their mother shouted. Owls screeched above the lively chatter and the train's whistle blew. Teddy noticed that many students were already on board. This was it, he thought, the start of the rest of his life.

His grandmother appeared beside him, looking as if she might cry again. Teddy swallowed hard to stop his own tears from forming. Suddenly everything seemed to be going at double speed. The whistle blew again and they hugged one last time, clinging on for slightly longer than normal. Then he was picking up his trunk and stepping on to the train. He squeezed past the groups of other students already laughing with their friends and found himself an empty compartment.

Teddy hurried to the window and waved frantically as the train pulled out of the station. That was it. She was gone. He wouldn't see anyone he knew until Christmas. He stared at the empty seats opposite him. What if no one else came? What if he didn't make any friends? Maybe it wasn't too late to change his mind. If he found the driver he could get the train to stop and go back, they hadn't gone far. He was sure they could find some excuse, so that he didn't have to go until Victoire did. The train lurched, forcing Teddy to sit down. The train was going faster now. It wasn't going to stop. He had to go. He knew that.

He stared at the empty compartment, half hoping for, half dreading the interruption of some other unsure first year. As if on demand, the door slid open. Teddy took a deep breath.

"Okay if I sit here?" A boy, shorter than Teddy, with glasses, freckles and dark brown hair was glancing at him incredibly nervously.

Teddy nodded. "Sure. I'm Teddy."

"Jack."

Just then another boy appeared, looking at one of the still vacant seats.

Teddy smiled at him. "Come in. I'm Teddy, this is Jack."

"Aiden."

The three boys were soon chatting. Aiden was from a wizarding family in Norfolk, but Jack had known nothing about Hogwarts or magic until a few weeks ago. Apparently his family were still trying to get over the shock.

It wasn't long before the witch was bringing around the trolley. Teddy felt his stomach rumble. It seemed a long while since breakfast. He grabbed a handful of Chocolate Frogs. Jack watched in amazement as Teddy pulled open the wrapper and the frog hopped out. Teddy and Aiden chuckled.

"What card did you get?" Aiden asked.

Teddy smiled as he glanced down at the familiar face grinning up at him. "Ron Weasley." What had Harry said about meeting people on trains?

"Ace, he's the only one I need to complete the trio!" Aiden exclaimed, wide eyed.

"Here, have it...I've got it at home already."

Aiden beamed. "Thanks, I owe you! This is brilliant!"

Teddy felt a warm sensation grow inside him. He had a feeling everything would be alright.


	5. Chapter 5

The line of students in front of Teddy was slowly getting shorter. He had been watching the sorting intently until Jack was sorted into Ravenclaw, but as the nerves got too much for him, he took to studying his surroundings instead as a means of distraction.

Although he had heard many stories, none of them quite did Hogwarts justice. The room he stood in was enormous, with magnificent carvings and gigantic windows. The other students sat at four long tables, each decorated with their house colours, their eyes upon the hat. At the front of the room sat the Hogwarts staff, again watching the sorting closely. Neville had given Teddy a small wave when he first saw him, which had made him feel ever so slightly better. Hundreds of candles hovered above the tables, giving the room an elegant feel. Looking up, Teddy could see the awe inspiring ceiling; the dark blue sky had a mysterious quality to it and the stars shone brighter than he had ever seen them. He traced the familiar patterns with his eyes to keep himself calm.

"Lester, Annie."

Teddy jerked back to reality as the girl in front of him moved forward. He was at the front of the line now...he'd be next. He didn't know what he was more worried about, the actual outcome of the sorting or the eyes of the school upon the magical headpiece. Don't morph, he willed himself. Sometimes it happened outside of his control, at times when he felt extreme emotions. He tried to focus his mind on exactly what he looked like now. At least he was himself. That made things easier.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Teddy gulped. This was it.

"Lupin, Edward."

He stumbled forwards, trying to ignore how much he was shaking. Don't morph. Don't morph. Don't morph. His shaking hands lifted the hat onto his head.

"Hmmm, interesting," the hat mused. "Teddy Lupin. You have your mother's warm heart and your father's curiosity and sense of adventure. Now, where shall I put you? You fancy your chances blending in amongst the Potters and Weasleys when they arrive I see, and you're already convinced they'll be in Gryffindor. No, Teddy Lupin, you need to carve your own path. Grow into a person others can aspire to be. You'll thrive in HUFFLEPUFF."

Relieved it was all over, Teddy quickly took off the hat and walked over to the Hufflepuff table. He was met by a flurry of smiles and warm greetings which eased his nerves somewhat, although it was nice to slip onto the bench and finally be out of the spotlight.

"Nice to meet you. Edward was it?" A boy with wavy black hair and piercing blue eyes offered his hand.

"Er...call me Teddy, everyone else does."

"Joshua Jones. I guess we'll be sharing a dorm." He gave a wide smile.

"I guess so."

"Which Quidditch team do you support?"

Teddy thought it might be a little too soon to start with the admission that he had been brought up watching Harpies matches because of Ginny, so settled with the safer Falmouth Falcons, who Bill used to take him to see with Victoire and Dom.

Joshua pulled a face. "You're having a tough season, aren't you? I'm a Puddlemere fan myself. I want to be a keeper just like Oliver Wood. How old do you reckon we'll have to be to get on the house team?"

"Er, I dunno. Maybe second or third year? First years can't have broomsticks."

Joshua rolled his eyes. "What a stupid rule! It didn't stop Harry Potter though, did it? He joined the team right after his first flying lesson. Amazing, isn't it?"

Teddy nodded dumbly. How did Joshua know that? Maybe this would be harder than he first thought. He'd been having a conversation for less than five minutes and he was already pretending that he didn't know Harry or Ginny and that Oliver Wood wasn't a frequent presence when they went to visit George and Angelina. He thought back to his Chocolate Frog card on the train. He'd never really considered that he was surrounded by a world of wizarding celebrity before, but when you thought about it a lot of people he knew were quite famous...

His thoughts were interrupted when Aiden came and sat himself down beside him. Teddy grinned at him and then quickly introduced him to Joshua.

The boys continued to chat throughout the feast, stopping only to listen to the speeches and announcements. Eventually, after they had filled themselves to a point where Teddy suspected he would not need to eat for another week, they followed the Hufflepuff prefects to the common room and then into their dormitory. Teddy looked around the room. It was definitely cosy. He spotted his things at the end of a four poster bed and suddenly realised how tired he was. It had been a long day. With any luck, his grandmother would have packed his pyjamas and toiletries on top and he wouldn't have to do too much unpacking tonight. Opening his trunk, he saw he was right. Brilliant! Now, where had the prefects said the bathroom was?

He turned to ask Joshua, who was knelt beside the bed to his left. However the boy was already staring at him.

"Do your eyes normally change colour?"

Teddy flushed. When he was younger his eyes had always turned a strange, light yellow when he was tired, however he thought he had grown out of it.

"Er...well...the thing is-"

"Wait...are you a metamorphmagus?" Joshua exclaimed.

Teddy nodded.

The other boys in the dorm were staring now.

"A meta what?" asked Matthew, a Muggleborn.

"It means he can change his appearance just by thinking about it," Joshua stated excitedly. "Doesn't it?"

Teddy nodded again, feeling very self conscious. Aiden and Joshua looked impressed but Matthew was eying him suspiciously.

"Can you change yourself now?" Aiden asked.

Teddy concentrated hard. Morphing was much more difficult when you were tired, but he didn't want to be a letdown. His hair turned blue and Aiden and Joshua shrieked with excitement.

"We're going to have such fun with this! Think of all the tricks we can play!"

Joshua's smile reminded Teddy a lot of George's when he was telling his nieces and nephews about the pranks he used to play with his twin.

After modelling a few different hair colours and a new nose, even Matthew was seeing the fun side of Teddy's morphing. Teddy felt a little relieved. They didn't think he was a freak, not because of this anyway. He'd worry about the other stuff later.

Snuggling down beneath the thick, yellow duvet, Teddy's mind wandered briefly to his grandmother and Victoire and he wondered what they were up to and whether they were missing him. Soon however, he was fast asleep.

...

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has followed or reviewed, it's nice to know someone is reading this

Disclaimer: I am enjoying playing with J. K. Rowling's characters and settings, but they still belong to her.


	6. Chapter 6

It seemed that breakfast at Hogwarts was no less impressive than the previous evening's feast. Teddy was still marvelling at the spread of cereals, pastries, eggs, bacon and sausages when no fewer than three owls dropped letters in front of him.

Smiling, he opened the one decorated with pictures of cats and broomsticks first.

Teddy!

I hope everyone is nice and you are having lots of fun. What house are you in? Have you met Peeves yet or Mrs Norris? Uncle Ron says that she can't possibly still be alive, but Aunt Ginny says that it wouldn't surprise her at all!

Missing you already!

Victoire

xxx

P.S. Dad says I should let you settle in before I start sending you letters, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him!

The following two, from his grandmother and Harry, made similar enquiries about how he was getting on so far. Teddy made a mental note to write back to them later on, although he suspected that Neville, who had just happened to run into him in the corridor that morning and ask if he was getting on okay, had already flooed Harry to let him know he was alright.

"Look, we're getting timetables." Joshua pulled at his sleeve and pointed down the table.

Minutes later, the four first year Hufflepuff boys were studying their timetables intently. Teddy felt a tingle of excitement. He was desperately looking forward to getting to use his wand and the Charms lesson scheduled for that morning could possibly be his first opportunity. He quickly shoved his letters in his school bag and stuffed the rest of his toast in his mouth, before setting off down the corridor with anticipation.

...

The next few weeks passed in a bit of a blur. As well as learning their way around the castle and its many quirks, the first years also made headway with all of their lessons. Teddy could now levitate a feather and make a potion to cure boils. He proudly explained all he knew in Astronomy and could answer all of the questions that Neville, or Professor Longbottom as he had to call him now, asked in Herbology. He was quite pleased that he managed to stay awake through History of Magic and it turned out he wasn't as bad at flying as he thought he might be either. Obviously all of the nitpicking Ginny did just came down to her own perfectionism.

Although he had received a few letters from his grandmother, Harry and Victoire and had finally managed to send some replies, Teddy was surprised to find he hardly missed home at all. Harry had been right; he already felt incredibly close to Joshua, Aiden and Matthew and life at Hogwarts was so interesting and enjoyable that it was hard to think about being anywhere else.

That was, until Teddy thought about the war. He was trying to get to sleep one night, when, for no reason whatsoever, he remembered the conversation him and Victoire had with Bill a couple of years before. His parents had died in this castle. Suddenly all of those things about Hogwarts that had seemed so magical before seemed less enticing. What horrors had the castle walls witnessed?

Journeys about the castle were no longer filled with marvel for Teddy; instead he found himself constantly wondering if that was the last corridor his father had ran down, if the view in front of him was the last one his mother saw. These thoughts caused several more sleepless nights for Teddy and for the first time in his life he had nightmares, in which masked wizards shot curses at a woman with pink hair.

The other boys were starting to look at Teddy with concern. He was inclined to think that they had just changed the topic of conversation when he arrived on more than one occasion and couldn't fail to notice how they nudged each other and glared at him when they didn't think he was looking. It seemed Matthew had been the one chosen to 'find out if he was okay', although the conversation that followed was an awkward one in which Teddy continued to insist that everything was fine whilst Matthew wrung his hands nervously. Afterwards, they ate their lunch in silence.

That afternoon's Herbology lesson was the worst hour and a half Teddy had experienced so far at Hogwarts. Obviously fed up with his sullenness, Matthew had given up on Teddy and partnered himself with one of the Gryffindors, leaving Teddy alone. For the first time, he wished he was back at home. He had fallen at the first hurdle and managed to push away his friends before he had even properly got know them. Teddy knew he should be making more of an effort; he had spent so long worrying that no one would want to be friends with him when they knew about his past and now he wasn't even giving them a chance. Yet all they wanted to do was to marvel at how wonderful Hogwarts was; he would only bring their mood down with his anxieties. He failed to concentrate throughout the lesson and noticed, as the others were lining up neatly potted plants, that he only had a pile of soil and the shredded remains of something green.

Neville put his hand on his shoulder as they were leaving the greenhouse. "What's going on, Teddy?"

"I'm fine," Teddy said, a little too forcibly.

"Drop by my office this evening," Neville instructed in a hushed voice. "I've got something to show you."

...

Neville's office, as Teddy had expected, was filled with plants. Pots showcasing different species hung from the ceiling, whilst the shelves were filled with an assortment of books, more plants and a selection of photos.

"Some of them don't like it in the greenhouses," Neville explained, following Teddy's eye. "It can be a bit too bright."

Teddy turned his attention to a photo of a younger looking Neville, stood with Harry and Ron, who were all waving enthusiastically.

"That's when we all completed our auror training..." Neville paused, contemplating what to say next. "They're all worried about you, said you didn't sound yourself in your last letter. I said I'd keep an eye out, that you were probably just too busy having fun to write properly...but something was definitely wrong earlier, even I could tell that."

Teddy continued to stare at the walls in the office. There were a lot of familiar faces in the photos; many of them were friends with Harry. Neville was now banging about in a cupboard behind him. He lifted out a Pensieve. Teddy recognised the strange instrument; Harry had one too.

"Did I ever tell you I was brought up by my Grandmother, Teddy? My parents were...injured...in the first war, they had to stay at St. Mungos. So I lived with my Grandmother until I began at Hogwarts...I didn't have the best start when I got here and was convinced that I'd get chucked out at any minute. I didn't really have a great start when it came to making friends either..."

He motioned towards the Pensieve. Teddy stepped towards it and bowed his head towards the silvery substance swirling inside.

With a lurch, Teddy's surroundings swirled away from him and he found himself in a small hallway with green, paisley print wallpaper. A number of dark, wooden doors led off from the hallway and it was beside one of these that a young Neville stood, his ear pressed up to the panelling. Teddy copied him and listened intently to the voices coming from the other side.

"I don't know what to do about him, Algie, what if he doesn't even get his letter? I thought it would have come by now." The woman sounded highly distressed.

"There's still time yet, Augusta."

"But what if he isn't magical enough to get in? What do we do then? What would Frank say if he knew...if he understood?"

"You know that Frank and Alice wouldn't care if he was a Squib or the greatest wizard Hogwarts ever produced. He is their son and that is all that matters. Deep down you know that it doesn't matter either, he's still your grandson and you love him."

"Yes, but Frank, my Frank, he was such a wonderful wizard. He showed so many signs of great magic before he even started at Hogwarts. How can his son have turned out so...so...I just thought he would grow up to be so like his father, I thought he would do his father proud, but now I wonder if he'll ever achieve anything!"

Teddy thought that she may well have started crying. Before he had a chance to fully comprehend the situation however, the hallway was disappearing and being replaced by blue skies, but not before Teddy caught a glimpse of the tears running down young Neville's face.

Startled by the memory, it took Teddy a few moments to realise that he was now stood on the lawn near to the Forbidden Forest. It seemed that Neville was having his first flying lesson. Tearing his attention away from Harry, who was having a lot more success with his broomstick than Neville was, Teddy watched as Neville took off without warning, his face turning whiter and whiter the higher he got, before he slid from his broom and landed with a thud. Teddy couldn't help notice the jeering faces of the Slytherins amongst the concerned faces of the Gryffindors and wished he could remain to see what happened between his godfather and the boy with the blonde hair.

As the next memory appeared, Teddy found himself and the younger Neville in a corridor. Neville was staring mournfully at a portrait of a large lady in a pink, silk dress.

"There is absolutely no way I can let you in without a password, even if you have been to the hospital wing. You'll have to hope one of your friends notices you're missing and comes to find you."

Neville's face fell even further and he dejectedly sat down on the floor, resigned to a long wait.

Another change of setting saw Teddy inside what he took to be the Gryffindor common room. Once again his attention was immediately caught by Harry, who was playing chess with Ron. It took him a few moments to notice Neville, who was sat alone in a corner, looking as miserable as before, helplessly prodding a feather with his wand. The memory seemed to change, but Neville's position did not, and Teddy realised that his Professor's solitude was not a one off occurrence.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Teddy retreated from the memory. He looked up at Neville, confused. "But you're Neville Longbottom. You helped lead Dumbledore's Army and fought against Voldemort...you got chosen to be an Auror..."

Neville smiled at him and gave a small chuckle. "Yes, it's quite extraordinary really. Hogwarts has a knack of doing that to people, helping them to change the course their lives take. In my first few years here, nobody believed I could do anything, myself included. I was the boy whose parents were at St. Mungos, the boy who lived with his grandmother, the boy who would never live up to who his parents had been...but then a few special people, your father and Harry included, helped me to see otherwise."

He motioned back to the Pensieve, where a new memory was waiting.

Initially Teddy was shocked to see his father, alive, taking the class, then recognition set in. Harry had shown him this memory before. Neville was quivering in front of a Boggart that had taken the form of Professor Snape. With his father's coaching, Professor Snape gained a vulture topped hat and a long, lace trimmed dress. As Neville retreated, he was congratulated by his classmates for doing such a great job... then they were in a spacious room Teddy hadn't seen before, filled with shelves of books and lots of cushions. Students stood in pairs practising spells and Harry was praising Neville about how much he had improved...a slightly older Neville now, with a gash down one side of his face, sitting in the same room, now filled with hammocks too, telling other students they had to stand up for the right thing...a girl with dark hair asking Neville for help with her disarming spell...

The memory began to fade and Teddy lurched backwards.

"I would never have believed I could do any of those things when I first started at Hogwarts. Everyone always told me that my father was a great Auror, that I had to live up to his memory, but I couldn't see how I would ever do that. It took a lot of time and a lot of support from others for me to realise that I wasn't going to grow up to be an exact replica of my father and that I couldn't let the past define who I was. I had to be brave enough to become who I wanted to be and not the person others expected to see. Your life is chosen by you, Teddy, it shaped by the decisions that you make about your future. Don't let the events of the past hold you back."

Neville's memories and words shocked Teddy. He would never have expected Neville to be anything less than what he was now, an ex-Auror and a hero. But Neville had grown up without his parents, he had felt alone when he first started at Hogwarts and in reality, was far more alone than what Teddy was now. From what he had just seen, Teddy guessed that Neville had faced the same worries that he did. Had he believed that he was different to everyone else? And what about his parents? Had he had nightmares about what happened to them?

He looked up and Neville's concerned eyes met his own.

"You know you can talk to me about anything Teddy. I won't even tell Harry or your grandmother, not if you don't want me too." 

Teddy nodded. Somehow it did feel easier talking to Neville, he didn't feel as worried that he was going to upset him as when he spoke to Harry or his grandmother.

"I keep thinking about them," he began. "About how they died in the castle. And now I've started thinking about it, I can't stop. Every time I walk down a corridor, I imagine their bodies. Even when I'm asleep, I dream about it."

Neville remained silent for a moment. "I could show you, if that would help? Where they were when they died."

Teddy's eyes widened. That was an answer he hadn't expected. "You know?"

Neville frowned, dealing with the uncomfortable memory. "I was one of the ones who helped to bring the bodies back to the Great Hall."

A shiver passed over Teddy as he thought about what it must have been like, not knowing who you would find, having to carry a body back to their waiting family or friends. He couldn't imagine it.

Leaving Neville's question hanging, he asked one of his own. "How do you cope, being here every day? After you saw all of that?"

"It was hard at first, but I have so many good memories here too. I walk around and remember winning the house cup or the Yule Ball or parties in the common room...you have to let the good memories take their place above the bad ones...and you will make lots of good memories here Teddy," he added, seeing the look on the young boys face.

"They seem like good boys, your room mates. Now, I'm not saying you won't fall out occasionally and I'm already convinced that Joshua Jones has got an eye for mischief, but I think you four could be lifelong friends if you set your minds to it. Don't push them away Teddy, let them help you."

The tight feeling that had resided in Teddy's chest for the last week began to ease. Maybe Neville was right. He didn't need to dwell on the past. He needed to be making the most of his first term at Hogwarts and start enjoying himself. That's what everyone else wanted him to do, and it was what he wanted to do too. "Thanks Nev...Professor Longbottom."

"Don't worry about it," Neville smiled. "I'm not saying it will be easy. You will still have nightmares sometimes, there will be days when you feel sad even if you're not quite sure why...but there are plenty of people here who can help you. Anytime you want to speak to someone, or want me to show you anything, you know exactly where I am."

"You won't tell Harry, will you?"

Neville shook his head. "Just send him a letter, let him know you're okay. I'm fed up of him turning up in my fireplace every couple of hours because he hasn't heard from you!"

Teddy grinned and made his way straight up the Owlery.

...

A/N: I hope nobody minds that this was more Neville centric than Teddy, but I find it really interesting considering the parallels between them. I'm sure Harry would have had lots of conversations with Teddy about dealing with the aftermath of the war, but I like the idea that Neville is someone else he can turn to who also had similar experiences.

As a warning, the next chapter is one of the few that is currently completely unwritten and March is looking like a really busy month for me, so apologies if you don't see me for a while. Hopefully I will have a burst of inspiration and find some time to write soon.


	7. Chapter 7

"Look, there, the boy with brown hair, that's him...Teddy Lupin...the godson of Harry Potter..."

"Does it look like there's anything wrong with him to you?"

"Hey Teddy, can you change your hair colour?"

Teddy was relieved as he ducked into the Charms classroom. He had taken to changing his appearance as he walked down the corridors to avoid being noticed, but unfortunately it just meant that the rest of the school were becoming used to his alternative guises. At least the other first years knew him a little and had been a lot less obtrusive than the rest of the school.

He had been doing so well, had managed a whole term of talking vaguely about his life at home and avoiding saying anything incriminating that no one had suspected that there was anything unusual about him at all. Then, that stupid article had come out and ruined everything!

It had all began when Teddy came out of his dormitory one morning and saw Neville perusing the various offerings on the notice board. The sight of a Professor in the common room was unusual enough, but seeing Gryffindor's head of house in the Hufflepuff Basement only indicated one thing to Teddy; something was wrong and it concerned him.

"Professor Longbottom?"

"Ah, Teddy. I've been waiting for you...don't worry, everyone's fine," Neville quickly reassured. "There's just something you should see before you go down for breakfast." A slight blush appeared in his cheeks as he steered Teddy out of the common room and towards his office. "I don't suppose you've noticed the features Rita Skeeter has been slipping into The Prophet recently, about the DA members?"

Teddy nodded. Obviously lacking a good story to get her teeth into, 'that vile woman' (as Ginny and Hermione called her) had spent the last few months filtering occasional character portraits into The Prophet, following up the achievements and life choices of the members of Dumbledore's Army in the most scathing fashion. George and Ron had been having a good laugh about it at Christmas, but from overhearing Harry talking, Teddy knew that others, including Neville's wife Hannah, hadn't been able to take it so lightly.

Teddy was feeling decidedly nervous as Neville offered him a seat and thrust a newspaper into his hands.

"You'd better take a look at this."

Noticing the headline, 'Dumbledore's Army: The Next Generation', Teddy felt his heart rate increase as he began to read.

'So who will make up the next generation of great witches and wizards? The next decade will see the children of many Dumbledore's Army members pass through Hogwarts; will they live up to the legacies of their parents?

James Potter, first born son of our saviour Harry Potter and his wife, ex Harpies star Ginny, will definitely be one to watch...

"She writes about you on the next page," Neville interrupted flatly.

Hands trembling, Teddy flicked his eyes over pictures of Albus, Lily, Rose and Hugo before turning the page to see his own face staring back at him.

"Harry thought it best you saw exactly what she'd written," Neville qualified, "but I can read it or summarise it for you, if you'd prefer?"

"No it's okay, I'll read it."

Teddy forced himself to concentrate on the poisonous text that flooded the page in front of him.

'Although not a blood relative, Potter's godson, Teddy Lupin, son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks (both lost in the Battle of Hogwarts) is currently in his first year at Hogwarts. Becoming an orphan at less than a month old, one can quickly draw parallels between Teddy and his famous godfather. Unlike Harry however, who spent his early years suffering at the hands of Muggle relatives, it seems Teddy has grown up showered with affection from his godfather. An anonymous source at the Auror office commented that: "Harry is always taking time off to see the boy and regularly leaves early because he is having him round for dinner. If fact, he treats him better than his own children". Could it be that our hero still feels guilty for the death of Lupin's parents? You may recall that they were only present at Hogwarts because Potter summoned them to support his cause. One can only assume that poor Teddy is still struggling to cope with his traumatic beginnings; in fact so little has been seen of him in the public eye that one wonders how well adjusted he is to everyday life? Rumours suggest that he possesses the metamorphmagus skills of his mother, although in light of other family traits, this could be considered a blessing. Unfortunately, no one at Hogwarts would comment on Teddy's progress at the school so far, personally, mentally or academically.'

Teddy dropped the paper to the floor, horrified. "But how...why...what is all of that?"

"She obviously wasn't getting a good enough rise out of what she was writing about the DA," Neville spat bitterly. "Enough people know what we're up to. She can't embellish the truth too much. You on the other hand..."

"But she says I'm not well adjusted to everyday life! Everyone's going to think I'm crazy!"

"Anyone who knows you knows you're not crazy Teddy. The rest of the world knows that Rita Skeeter writes absolute codswallop. Not many people will take her seriously."

"Not many isn't everyone..."

"True, but those people aren't worth worrying about. Did you see what she wrote about me?" He ruffled about in his drawer, pulling out a previous edition of the paper. "'Neville Longbottom, failed Auror and notably one of the worst students Hogwarts ever saw, is now trying to teach our future generation the merits of the useless subject of Herbology.'"

Teddy pulled a face.

"If anyone took her seriously, there would have been a heap of complaints arriving on my desk. I haven't had one. People trust Harry, he's their hero, they trust Hermione who is out there making the world a better place, for some reason they even trust me; Rita Skeeter will never have the influence she used to because she's done too much damage to the people who really matter."

Just then, Neville's fireplace began to glow and a familiar figure stepped out.

Before he had even realised what he was doing, Teddy had leapt across the room so that Harry's arms could gather him into a hug.

Harry knelt down to face him, his green eyes sincere. "I am so sorry Teddy, I never expected anything like this to happen. I thought if you were hardly ever seen in public with me, then you would be safe from all of this ridiculous attention. I should have known that was too much to hope for."

Neville gave a dry laugh. "To think we once wished we were all famous like you Harry!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "What did I always tell you?"

"How's Ginny taken it?" Neville asked, almost nervously. "Not well, I imagine."

"She's absolutely fuming. It's been bad enough with the others; you saw how she was the other day after what they said about Hannah. Now she's started writing for The Prophet, she thought they'd show her a bit of allegiance. But now the kids have been brought into it, not that it said anything much about them to be fair, poor Teddy has got the worst of it...her and Hermione have gone down there now. I'm almost glad I had a reason to come up here. Even Ron knows better than to try and cross the two of them together. Saying that, it's a good job we had to leave him with the kids; if he'd have gone as well the whole office would have been blown to smithereens by now. Have you ever noticed how much more dangerous Auror training can make someone?"

Teddy felt an enormous sense of relief that Harry had come to see him rather than going to blow up the Daily Prophet headquarters. Rita Skeeter really hadn't thought about the effects this article could cause, had she?

Neville glanced at his watch. "Right, I've got to go and teach my NEWT students about the uselessness of Herbology. Feel free to stay in my office; I bet the house elves will bring you some breakfast up Teddy, you must be starving. I'll catch you in a bit."

As he and Harry munched their way through a rather impressive breakfast, Teddy almost convinced himself that this was just a normal day and that right now, all across the castle, other students weren't whispering about crazy, unhinged Teddy Lupin, spoilt godson of Harry Potter and inheritor of unknown, unwanted traits. After their plates were cleared however, Teddy reluctantly picked the paper back up again and read through it again.

"Is everyone going to work out about my dad? About being a werewolf?"

Harry ran his hand through his hair, thinking. "I shouldn't think so, not unless someone already had an idea about it in the first place. She isn't allowed to publish anything like that. That's something you can thank Hermione for. A privacy act, so that personal conditions can't be revealed by the press. The comment is too vague for anyone to take much from it. They'll probably assume she's talking about your mother's family links to dark magic."

The comment didn't really reassure Teddy. He knew that as soon as he walked out of this office, everything would be different. All those months of trying to be normal had been wiped away; suddenly everyone would look at him and see an entirely different person. Harry had always made it very clear that fame wasn't all it was cracked up to be and after hearing some of his stories, Teddy had always been convinced that he didn't want to experience life in the spotlight.

"How do you cope with it? Loads of people write about you, and Rita Skeeter has said loads of horrible things. You never let it bother you."

Harry smiled grimly. "It used to bother me a lot, when I was younger. I guess you get used to it. You just have to learn that the people that write these things don't know you, they don't know the truth, they are just trying to create attention for themselves. It's the opinions of your friends and family that matter."

"That's what Neville said."

"And that, Teddy, is why you're very lucky to have him here keeping an eye on you."

The increase in noise in the hallway indicated that the current lessons were over. A few minutes later the door to the office opened and Neville walked in, followed by three others.

An unexpected, familiar voice quickly drew Teddy's attention. "Guess what Teddy, you're famous, everyone is –"

Josh stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and mouth open.

Teddy caught Harry's wink before he stepped forwards.

"You must be Joshua. Teddy has told me lots about you." He shook the young boy's hand. "And Aiden...and Matthew?" He turned to the one boy who seemed completely unphased at his being there.

"They wanted to make sure you were alright, Teddy." Neville supplied. "Raced down to the greenhouse to make sure I hadn't sent you home for being a delinquent. Promised they'd keep an extra special eye on you, just as long as you were allowed to stay."

All four boys blushed.

"Everyone wants to know if you're really a metamorphmagus. We didn't say anything of course, didn't know if you'd want us to, and there's a fair few people asking if you can get them Harry Potter's autograph..."

Aiden glanced sideways at Joshua, who turned an even deeper shade of red.

"...but nobody thinks that your mental mate, don't worry."

Teddy felt a little of the weight life from his shoulders. He wasn't naive enough to think that this would all be forgotten about in a couple of days and he knew that whatever the others said, there would be some students who would seize the opportunity to exploit it, but the fact that his friends were there to stand by him was at least a start.

Just then, the fireplace began to glow again, this time the face of Neville's wife Hannah appearing between the flames.

"Er Harry, I think it might be a good idea for you to make your way to the Ministry. Ron's just called by to say that Ginny has been escorted from the building for unlawful behaviour, he's just off to the Auror office to try and smooth things over until you can get there..." A loud crash suddenly sounded behind Hannah, making her wince. "Oh, and I've got your children here by the way, they're just... helping... out in the pub. Should I try and see if Molly will take them?"

Harry turned a funny shade of grey. "Yes, thanks Hannah. I'll catch you later."

Another crash sounded and the floating head vanished.

"Teddy, I'll call in a bit and make sure things are okay. Neville will do a grand job of keeping things in order here until then."

He turned and clapped his friend on the back, before giving Teddy one final hug and disappearing into the flames.

...

A/N: Apologies first of all for the ridiculously long wait for an update. Real life got too chaotic unfortunately. This chapter didn't quite go where I wanted it to, and I think it's perhaps a little too random, but I really wanted Teddy's friends to find out about Harry and this was the way that stuck. That said, my beloved Charlie Weasley will be popping up soon, so I promise to be much more inspired!

A note on canon and the progression of this story: I am a real stickler for staying true to canon when writing fics, however I am going to break my own rules and twist things slightly for the sake of this story. This chapter was somewhat inspired by Rita Skeeter's comments about Dumbledore's Army in her Quidditch World Cup commentary, however I feel like anyone in Harry Potter's circle of friends would immediately become of interest to her in the years since the war and while she was busy collecting information for her book on Dumbledore's Army, she may well have felt compelled to create a few sparks of discontent along the way.

With regard to the relationship between Teddy and Victoire at that point, I feel that there is a lot for the two of them to work out before they get to the romantic stages of things. I read the final chapter of DH as it being quite a shock to James that the two of them are snogging, not as if it's something they've been doing for three years, so for the sake of this fic, if I get that far ahead in time, there won't be any romance between them until Teddy has left Hogwarts. However after a few more chapters I will be jumping ahead to Teddy's later years at Hogwarts when he really starts to gain more of an identity for himself, which is where all of my initial ideas for this fic started out. Wow, that was a really long ramble. I will go now and concentrate on writing important things!


	8. Chapter 8

"Here, this is my address. Although I'm not sure what Mum will say if owls start turning up at the house! She gets a bit worried about what the neighbours might think."

The other boys laughed, each taking a copy of Matthew's address.

"Well, I definitely think you should all come to mine," Aiden grinned "My parents love having people over, the more the merrier they say. I'll send you all an owl and let you know."

Teddy couldn't believe their first year at Hogwarts was over already. The four boys had spent their train journey back to King's Cross marvelling at all they had done that year and making exciting plans for the next.

Almost too soon, the train ground to a halt and they joined the throngs of other students piling on to the platform.

Stepping through the steam, Teddy spotted his welcome party. His grandmother was there, with Harry and Ginny and –

"Teddyyyyyy!"

Victoire sprang at him with such force that he almost fell over. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a squeeze.

"I'm SO glad you're home Teddy, I've got so much planned for us. I asked Maman if you could stop with us ALL summer, she said no, but I'm sure she'll change her mind. Dom can share my room and you can have hers if you want to. Or if you want, Andromeda can come too, she can have my room and we can camp in the garden. Please say yes Teddy, please!"

Teddy hugged the rest of his family as she finished her speech. It was good to know some things never changed.

...

For the first few weeks of the holidays, Victoire would hardly let Teddy out of her sight. She insisted on seeing him at every given opportunity, and so Molly had invited them both over to The Burrow for tea. When he got there, Victorie and Dominique were chuckling over a box of photos, with Bill providing occasional commentary. Teddy wandered over to take a look. There was one of Bill with his head boy badge, standing proudly in front of the lake. In the next one, Charlie accompanied him, broomstick in his hand, looking like he wanted to be somewhere else. A third one, similar to the one before, except Charlie was trying to pull someone else into the picture: a girl with pink hair. Teddy's heart skipped a beat as the face turned to stare at him. His mother.

Teddy wondered why he had never questioned it before. He was vaguely aware that his mother had been at school with the older Weasley brothers, but had always presumed that they didn't really know each other, being in different houses. However Charlie seemed desperate to have her in the photo with him, which was definitely not the behaviour you would expect from mere acquaintances.

Teddy turned to Bill, who, having realised what Teddy had just seen, was looking awkward.

"You knew her at Hogwarts?"

"Not really..." Bill mumbled.

The room was suddenly filled with silence. Victoire and Dom had stopped giggling and Molly's knife was no longer chopping carrots.

"But she's in the photo with you..."

"I only got to know her during the war," Bill clarified. "I saw her around at Hogwarts, but I never really spoke to her."

"Then it must have been Charlie that knew her? She ended up in that photo somehow!"

Teddy suddenly felt irritated. It sometimes felt like everything in his life was surrounded by secrecy. Why no one would ever tell him a full story? It seemed he was only ever fed fragments of his past, with no one letting him find out his true history.

"Yeah, Charlie knew her. They were pretty good friends at one point, although they never really saw each other much after school."

Anger instantly forgotten, Teddy felt a tingle of excitement at this new lead. Perhaps Charlie could tell him something more about the woman who only gazed at him from photographs.

"Do you think that he'd talk to me about her, next time he's home?" he asked hopefully.

Bill's cheeks flushed slightly. "I don't know, Teddy. Charlie has been pretty busy recently and he's not much of a talker. He likes leaving the past in the past."

"He always talks to _me_ about Hogwarts," Victoire butted in.

"And me!" Dominique insisted.

Bill sighed, staring at his daughters with a strange look on his face. "Look, I'll ask him, okay. Just, don't get your hopes up."

Teddy tried not to let his disappointment show. At least there was a chance.

...

Teddy tried to forget the conversation as the holidays continued. There was plenty to do to keep his mind occupied. As promised, the invitation arrived to visit Aiden's house along with Josh and Matthew, where they spent two nights camping in his garden and playing Quidditch. The Potter clan had him over for dinner as often as his grandmother was willing to give him up and Victoire was also keen to capitalise on his time at home, getting him to fill her in on every little detail about his life at Hogwarts.

It was quite unexpected when, in the last week of the holidays, Teddy found himself being invited over to Shell Cottage for dinner, with the promise that Charlie would also be joining them.

Victoire was most disappointed that Teddy wasn't there to see her, meaning Bill had some serious cajoling to do as he ushered her away, leaving Charlie and Teddy alone in the garden.

"So you saw the photo of me and your mum at Hogwarts, eh? I guess we were pretty good friends back then."

"You've never told me anything about her," Teddy stated, his voice full of accusation.

Charlie shrugged. "It's been such a long time since your mum and I did anything fun together. I guess a lot of the memories I have now are sad ones."

Teddy thought that seemed a pretty poor answer. He'd always liked Charlie. Although he didn't see him as much as the other Weasleys, whenever he did make an appearance he was always laughing and joking, telling fascinating stories or helping to plot pranks.

Now he wasn't so sure. Everyone else he knew had plenty of good stories to tell about his mum, and they were all from during the war. Charlie had known her during some of the best years of her life, the only time she wasn't in danger, and he had nothing good to say? Teddy didn't believe it. It seemed as if Charlie was just another person keeping secrets. There was obviously plenty to be told, or Bill wouldn't have asked him to make the journey over. Why had he come, if he wasn't prepared to say anything?

Charlie opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure of quite how to proceed. "That came out wrong. Your mum was a brilliant witch. She was brave, she was kind and I wouldn't wish for a minute that I hadn't known her." He wrung his hands together, as if trying to find the right words to say. "In the first war, my uncles Fabian and Gideon were killed. For years afterwards, everywhere we went, we would be told stories of these great war heroes. And they just made me feel sad. Sad that they weren't around anymore, sad because when someone talked about them it made our mum cry. As I grew older, anything anyone told me about them felt like a direct comparison, like I should be trying to live up to their name. So I started to avoid listening to the stories, it was just too painful."

Teddy felt a twinge of empathy. He was constantly told about how brave his parents were, how much they had done for the Order, how they had helped to save the world. Charlie was right though, they were the sort of stories that made you feel sad. Proud, but sad. What's more, they weren't real stories, these hero worshipping tales. They didn't tell him about what they were like to hang out with, what they chatted about in the common room, what pranks they played on Filch. Obviously Harry had filled him in where he could, but there was a limit to the information he could give. Likewise his Grandmother had told him about his mother when she was at home, but he felt like this wasn't the full picture. Until now, Teddy had failed to find anyone who knew his parents intimately, who could tell him what they were really like.

Charlie looked reluctant to speak again, however.

Teddy sensed he was going to have to make the first move. "Everyone tells me what she was like during the war. Or what she was like as a young girl. I feel like I only have half of the story though. I feel like there's something missing..."

Charlie's eyes twinkled for a second. "So, are you telling me, you want the uncensored version? The side her mother...your grandmother...doesn't know about?"

"I guess I am."

Teddy failed to realise how much time had passed by, he had become so immersed in what Charlie had to say. True, it had taken him a while to get going. The stories had been stunted at first, full of pauses and glances up to the sky, backtracking as Charlie began a memory he didn't want to complete. With time though, the memories began to flow with more ease. The stories took on the same nature as those he told about dragons, full of expression, vivid hand gestures and with a broad smile on his face.

It wasn't until Bill shouted to announce dinner that Charlie stopped speaking.

"I'm glad we had this chat," Teddy offered. "It's been nice to hear stories that don't involve someone's life hanging in the balance for a change."

Charlie nodded, obviously deep in thought.

"You still miss her, don't you?"

Charlie smiled a sad smile. "She was one of my best friends..."

A thought occurred to Teddy, something he had been pondering for a while. "The Snapdragons that get left on the grave, it's you, isn't it?"

"I'd like to think I'd got away with that sentimental gesture...it doesn't quite fit the dragon handling persona."

Teddy smiled. "I won't tell anyone."

"Are you two coming or not?" Bill's voice sounded slightly irritated. Obviously Fleur was not impressed that her cooking was being left to get cold.

"You should write to me," Charlie offered, "if you ever want to chat."

Teddy grinned. "I'd like that."

...

A week later, after a spectacular spread put on by his grandmother and Molly in aid of his returning to Hogwarts, Bill beckoned Teddy over.

"It sounds like you and Charlie had a good chat the other week."

Teddy grinned. "It was brilliant, especially hearing about all the crazy pranks that mum pulled at Hogwarts."

"I'm glad. I think it did him good too. He spends too much time living in the past..." Bill looked as if he was about to say more, then stopped himself.

"You know Teddy, we're all here for you, anytime you need us. It doesn't matter how old you are, or where life takes you. You'll always be welcome at Shell Cottage or The Burrow."

"Thanks Bill."

He thought back to the photo and what Charlie had said about his mum trying to chase him on his broom, yet never quite being able to catch up. It struck him how similar it was to his own summers, flying with Victoire hot on his heels. He knew then that wherever life took him, he certainly hoped that the Weasleys would always be a part of it.

A/N: I intentionally wanted conversations about the relationship between Tonks and Charlie to seem a little strained in this chapter. In the universe in my head, Charlie and Tonks were really close at Hogwarts, but they drifted apart after leaving, which is something Charlie will eternally feel guilty about. I'm exploring their relationship/ Charlie's angst following her death in my fic 'Memories Of You' if you want to check it out (shameless plug alert).

Many thanks go to PixiePatronus13675 for your faithful reviewing and to those of you who have are following this!


	9. Chapter 9

Teddy's second year flew past as quickly as his first and all too quickly it was September 1st again. This year was different though; he was joined on Platform 9 ¾ by a ridiculously excited Victoire, who was eagerly looking around with wide eyes and insisted on giving a running commentary of everything that drew her attention.

Teddy felt a strange sensation inside him as he watched Bill ruffle her hair proudly and whisper into her ear, as he saw Fleur trying to hold back tears as she clasped her daughter to her one last time, as Dom stuck out her tongue and Louis clung on to his sister's clothes, refusing to let her go. This was what it could have been like, if his parents had still been alive. He would have had a family there to wave him off, maybe even brothers and sisters.

Then, he turned around and saw his grandmother and Harry and instantly felt guilty. They were his family. They did everything and anything they could for him and he would always be grateful for that. Still, it wasn't the same...

The whistle blew and Teddy said his goodbyes before helping Victoire onto the train with all of her belongings. She eagerly joined him in his compartment and introduced herself to his friends. It felt good having her there, Teddy decided. He missed her a lot when he was away; now they would be able to see each other all of the time, like they used to.

The journey passed quickly as each of the four Hufflepuff's shared their stories from the summer and wondered about the year to come. They played a game of dares with some suspiciously coloured Bertie Bott's Beans, Josh lost an eyebrow to exploding snap and Victoire sulked whilst they eagerly discussed their first Hogsmeade weekend. Then the train was at the station and Victorie was being bustled off onto the boats with the other first years, whilst the rest of the school got the horseless carriages up to the school.

The next time Teddy caught sight of her, she was in the line waiting to be sorted. She wasn't hard to miss; her bright, blonde hair sparkled in the candlelight, making her look a little like a Christmas tree angel. Teddy tried to wave but she was far too busy chatting to the dark haired boy standing next to her. Eventually, she realised she was in eyesight of the Hufflepuff table and gave Teddy an enthusiastic smile, but before long she had returned to her conversation.

Teddy's eyes never left her, however. He felt almost as nervous for her as he had done for his own sorting. He knew that everyone in the family was secretly hoping that she would become a Gryffindor but still, he clung to the small hope that she might join him at the Hufflepuff table. Hadn't she spent the whole summer telling him how she didn't care about family tradition; how she would much rather be in Hufflepuff with him? Hopefully the hat would take that into consideration.

Finally, she was next in line.

"Weasley, Victoire."

It seemed every person in the Great Hall stopped and stared as Victoire stepped up to be sorted. She lacked the wide eyed fear that many first years displayed and, Merlin, even at eleven she was beautiful. She lifted the hat to her head with the sort of elegant poise unbeknown to someone of her age and listened to the hat with a look of intelligent curiosity on her face.

She had practised that look, Teddy could tell. Fleur used it sometimes, when she was out in public, if Bill wasn't around. Ginny called it her 'Veela look' and sometimes laughed about it with Hermione when they thought no one else was listening.

Teddy felt like he was seeing her for the first time. Gone was that girl he had left less than an hour before. She was no longer one amongst many siblings and cousins...she had stepped out on her own and was seizing the moment. She knew that everyone was looking at her and she was enjoying the attention.

As he had dreaded, but expected, within moments the hat shouted "Gryffindor" and Victoire pranced off towards the cheering table without even a look in his direction. Teddy felt his heart sink.

His eyes stayed on her for the rest of the evening. Eventually she turned around to seek him out, giving him a wave then whispering to the two girls sitting either side of her. Josh, Aiden and Matthew kept trying to bring him back into their conversation but somehow he couldn't stop watching her.

After the food was finished, speeches made and notices given, Teddy took his opportunity. He strolled over to where she sat and, to his relief, was greeted by a massive grin and a tight hug.

"I did it Teddy, I got into Gryffindor. Everyone will be so proud!"

His worries subsided a bit then. Maybe that was it. For all of her talk that summer, she was a Weasley, and Gryffindor was where they went. How could he have expected her to want to be anywhere different?

Teddy promised he would see at her at breakfast the next morning and waved her off as she went with the prefects to Gryffindor tower, before walking slowly to his own common room. He tried to join in a game of chess with Aiden, but his heart really wasn't in it, so he excused himself and went to bed. He couldn't help but think about his mum and Charlie. They had been best friends but had been in different houses. If it hadn't affected them, then why should it affect Victoire and him? Yes, but they were in the same year, a voice nagged. They had classes together. It was different for them.

It took him a long while to fall asleep that night.

...

Life at Hogwarts quickly returned to its normal pattern and Teddy was glad to be back amongst his own friends after a long summer of not seeing them. Josh wanted to try out for the Quidditch team and, identifying Teddy as the second most proficient flier of the group, insisted on getting him to assist him with his practices. Alongside the increased number of classes and mounting homework, Teddy found there was plenty to keep him busy.

Victoire would still wave at him enthusiastically in the corridor whenever they passed, but they were always rushing off to their next lesson. On a few occasions she hung about the Hufflepuff table to chat to him after dinner, but his friends were always there, so it wasn't the same. Even worse was when he wandered over to the Gryffindor table. She was always sat with a small group of girls who started giggling as soon as he appeared, making their conversation awkward.

One Friday afternoon, as he loitered about in the greenhouses after their lesson was over, he voiced his thoughts to a concerned Neville.

"She thinks a lot of you, you know. She's always telling anyone who will listen about the brilliant Teddy Lupin."

Teddy looked at Neville, wide eyed. "But I've barely seen her since she arrived. She hardly speaks to me anymore."

"I think she's just trying to find her feet. She'll come back to you Teddy, don't worry about that. She's spent her whole life being one of a handful of Weasleys, and has got a little bit too excited about having some attention just on her for a change. It's like when Lavender...oh, I'm rambling again. You know sometimes Teddy, I think I'm talking to Harry, not you. You've picked up a lot of his mannerisms; you remind me a lot of him. Anyway, she'll come around, people always do."

Teddy could only hope his professor, who had shared so many words of wisdom in the past, was right.

...

A/N: Apologies if this is turning into the Neville Longbottom show. He keeps turning up and plonking himself down right in the middle of all of my chapters. I promise there are other professors at Hogwarts, but I love him a little too much to let any of them have any of the limelight. I am loving exploring bratty, self centred Victoire even more. I promise it's just a phase she's going through, but for now she has completely let the 'old enough to go to Hogwarts' thing go to her head; mix it with a good splash of 'everyone's looking at me because I'm part Veela' and you have someone who is brilliant fun to write, even if she is going to make Teddy's life a bit miserable. Poor boy, he has enough to deal with!


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, Teddy! Is there room for me?"

Teddy looked over through the crowded Quidditch stands. Victoire was beaming at him, waving a handmade Hufflepuff flag furiously.

He held out a hand to help her climb over to them.

"I take it your friends aren't much for Quidditch, then?" Teddy asked, noting their absence.

"Millie loves it. She's over there." She pointed a few rows behind. "I just wanted to come and help you support Josh. Surely I can spend some time with my favourite person, can't I Teddy? Don't you want me?" She gave a very fake pout.

"Course I do!" He ruffled her hair, prompting her to swat him away playfully.

He couldn't keep up with this. One minute he was her favourite person, the next she was swanning past him with hardly a wave, like he was only a vague acquaintance. Girls!

Oh well, might as well make the most of it now she was here.

"How's he feeling?"

"Nervous!" Teddy looked anxiously back to the ground where Josh was stood tapping his Beater's bat against his palm. It was his first match.

"He'd look a lot better if the Ravenclaw beaters weren't so huge!" Aiden exclaimed.

Just then, the whistle blew and the players shot off into the air. The next few hours were rather gruelling, with neither team really pulling ahead. Victoire took the opportunity to fill Teddy in on all that she had been doing over the last few weeks and give him an in depth character study on all of her Professors, roommates and anyone else she had happened to come across. It almost felt like old times and Teddy was beginning to hope that they had put the strangeness of the last few weeks behind them.

By the time the snitch was disappointingly caught by Ravenclaw's seeker, the night was drawing in and they were all beginning to shiver. Victoire had pressed herself tightly into Teddy's side, wrapping his cloak around her for extra warmth. It left Teddy feeling incredibly cold when she got up to leave.

"I'll see you next week..." she proclaimed, "...for Gryffindor-Slytherin. And I want to see your flag Teddy!"

...

And so their strange new arrangement bumbled along; they would go for weeks at a time hardly speaking and then all of a sudden she would turn up, all smiles and for a few hours it was like nothing had ever changed.

He had been foolish to think that him and Victoire would keep their closeness at Hogwarts, he realised that now. They were growing into different people; they didn't have to be in each other's pockets anymore. The more he thought about it, the more he began to question why they were so close in the first place. It wasn't like they were actually family or anything. He had only spent so much time with her growing up because their grandmothers were friends and because Ginny and Bill were siblings. As they got older they probably wouldn't spend any time together at all.

Still, when he didn't see her, he missed her terribly. She had always been the person he would turn to whenever something was wrong or whenever he had exciting stories to share. At least before she started at Hogwarts they had been able to write each other letters; now even that privilege was denied to him. Teddy desperately hoped that when the Christmas holidays arrived, things would finally shift back to normal and they could go back to how they had always been. Much to his disappointment however, she spent the whole of her holidays in France. As fun as it was spending time with James and Albus, it wasn't quite the same.

By the time they got to Easter, Teddy had almost given up on the idea of them spending time together. However, the first few days of the holidays were blissful. Each morning Teddy woke up to glorious sunny weather and his grandmother, realising how much he missed Victoire's company, took little persuading to take him to The Burrow, where she sat and drank tea and chatted with Molly. Meanwhile, for the first time in forever, he and Victoire could run about in the orchard and play all of the games they used to, tell jokes and share secrets. This was better, Teddy thought. He could almost cope with things being different at Hogwarts, if they could always go back to this.

The first week of the holiday was nearly over when Victorie approached him with a look on her face that Teddy knew to mean 'I need to talk to you'.

"I found something out," she stated quietly.

They took their next opportunity to slink off to the orchard, away from the other Weasleys.

"What's up?" Teddy queried.

"I asked my dad about his scars..." Victoire began. "I always wanted to, but maman always said it was rude to ask about someone's appearance, and I always figured she was talking about my dad. They were talking though, about a battle, and I happened to overhear them and then he told me."

Teddy nodded. "And...?"

"He was attacked by a werewolf!"

Teddy felt a cold wave pass over him. He had never talked about his father with Victoire. Not because he was ashamed but because he wasn't sure what she would say. He had always been a little scared that she would treat him differently, not intentionally, but in a pitying sort of way, like some people did when they learned about his parents.

"I mean, it's okay, he wasn't cursed or anything, thank Merlin, but can you imagine how bad it would have been? What if he had been bitten? What if he was a fully fledged werewolf? It would have been...terrible..."

Teddy couldn't breathe. His mind wouldn't work properly, he couldn't think of anything to say. From what Victoire had said, she had every right to hate werewolves, but hearing her talk about them brought back every insecurity he had ever felt.

"I even panicked that I could turn into a werewolf, but maman said that was just silly." Victoire giggled. "Hey, Teddy, are you okay?"

Suddenly, her eyes widened and her face went white.

"Sorry Teddy, I didn't mean...I know your dad wasn't...I only meant it would have..."

Teddy closed his eyes. He didn't want to have this conversation. He was vaguely conscious that his hair was changing colour; his metamorphing abilities always took a hit when his moods were severe.

"Teddy? I'm really, really sorry. That came out all wrong." Victoire sounded more anxious than ever.

Teddy felt the panic completely take over his body. What could he even say to her?

"I'm not feeling too good," he managed to stutter. "Got to...get back home." He clutched his stomach in what he hoped was a semi-convincing way and made a dash for the house, ignoring the cries that followed him.

...

Somehow he made his way back into Molly Weasley's kitchen. He desperately sought out his grandmother amongst the throng of red heads.

"Can you take me home please, I...I don't feel well."

Andromeda looked at him questioningly.

"Sure Teddy...you want to go right now?"

Teddy nodded, "quickly, please!"

"Okay, I'll see you soon," she said to the others, her face full of concern.

She took Teddy's hand and used her other to grab some Floo Powder.

They were just disappearing in a swirl of green as Victoire ran into the kitchen, desperately shouting his name.

...

An hour or so later, an owl knocked at the window.

Andromeda opened the window and let it in. "It's addressed to you, Teddy."

Teddy unrolled the parchment. The ink was badly smudged and there were lots of blobs which he suspected were tear stains. He thrust it aside, not even bothering to read it. There was nothing that she could say that would make things any better.

Teddy spent the next week doing as much as he could with his grandmother and with Harry. He kept pretending to himself it was because he hadn't seen much of them in the preceding week, but he knew that in reality it was because he wanted to avoid seeing Victoire.

When they finally did cross each other's paths, on the night before they returned to Hogwarts, they didn't speak at all. She came over to him just as they were about to leave, and opened her mouth to say something. Teddy shook his head. There it was, a silent resolve to never mention it again, to pretend it never happened. He could see the tears forming in her eyes, but right now he really didn't care. She wasn't the one who deserved to be upset by all of this. He was the one with the werewolf father; he was the one who had been hurt by her words, why should she get any sympathy?

The following morning she would be back with the giggling girls and gallant Gryffindors and werewolves and orphans would be the least of her concerns. There was no point in trying to patch things over now.

Filled with a bitterness he didn't know lived within him, Teddy turned away and left her to deal with the heartache this time.

...

A/N: I know I'm being evil to Teddy. Things will get better for him, I promise.

I'm going to continue exploring his insecurities around werewolves in the next chapter, things were just getting a bit long and drawn out here.


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as he heard Neville's "come in", Teddy walked in to the office, threw his bag down on the floor and slumped in a chair.

"We did werewolves today," he stated.

"Ah." Neville put down his quill, feeling irritated. He had asked the other staff to let him know before they covered anything that could be considered sensitive. It was something they had had to deal with a number of times over recent years. He had wanted to be able to give Teddy a heads up, give him the chance to opt out if he wanted to. After the nightmares Teddy had experienced and the insecurities he faced, who knew what emotional rollercoaster this would set him off on? He would be having a very a very pointed conversation with Professor Woodville later.

"I'm sorry, Teddy. You shouldn't have been put through that, not without warning anyway.

"It wasn't just the lesson," Teddy admitted. "It was the look in everyone's eyes. The fear, the revulsion, the whispering afterwards..."

He stared down at his hands, as if expecting them to suddenly sprout fur and claws.

"I'm sure you've been told a hundred times what a good man your father was," Neville reasoned. "He was a brilliant teacher, a brave fighter, a loyal friend. He deserves all of the recognition he has had since, the memorials, his Order of Merlin..." 

"I know, but he was still a werewolf. He will never break away from that, despite everything he's done."

"You'd be surprised Teddy, things are really changing now."

Teddy twisted his hands in anguish. "You can't change what people think! You can change laws, but you'll never change that look on someone's face when they hear the word werewolf."

The images of the last hour were still floating around in Teddy's head; the looks of revulsion and horror and the gasps of disgust as werewolf bites and transformations were described. It wasn't that any of it had shocked him. He had dedicated a large amount of time recently to researching werewolves and was far better educated about them than he imaged Professor Woodville to be. He had seen all of the images that had been shared before, heard all of the accounts. He had even expected the response; ever since Victoire's outburst eighteen months ago he had realised that he would never be able to escape that reaction. It would be incredibly hard to change hundreds of year's worth of prejudice, whatever actions the Ministry might take.

What bothered Teddy more than anything, however, was that he had sat there and listened to it. As the class had debated the rights of werewolves, pondered over new legislation and the entitlement of anyone with that 'condition', he had merely sat there in silence. He had heard some of his classmates say terrible things and hadn't said anything at all to oppose them. Even when the vast majority of students had argued that werewolves deserved better, he had still failed to comment. He had always told himself that he wasn't ashamed of his father, but surely his behaviour today proved the exact opposite?

"I wanted to stand up for him," he said to Neville, his voice barely above a whisper. "I wanted to say that it didn't matter and that werewolves could be good people, but I was just so scared that someone would suspect something. It sounds terrible, but I don't want anyone looking at me with the same look of disgust they gave those pictures."

It was Neville's turn to look anxious. Teddy recognised the awkward pause; it was one that his grandmother or Harry would sometimes adopt when the response they wanted to give was quite terrible, and they were trying to find a better way to deliver it.

"You have to understand that it's hard for people," Neville began. "Fenrir Greyback and those he was involved with caused chaos during the war. People don't forget that. It's like the families associated with Death Eaters; have you noticed how the rest of the school avoid some of the students in Slytherin? Children who may have had Death Eaters for uncles, aunts, grandparents? Many of them detest that someone related to them could have played any part in the atrocities that happened, they are ashamed to have the surname they do. They weren't even old enough to understand what was going on at the time of the war, yet still they are marginalised for what their families did."

Teddy recalled the adults speaking once about losing their childhoods to the war and lamenting how the next generation would have a freedom they never experienced, a carefree existence. However Teddy was realising more and more that they weren't free. They were still haunted by the prejudices that the war brought about, terms like werewolf, Death Eater, Mudblood still held deep connotations, however much people tried to change things. Even with his limited understanding of the war, he felt encased by its aftermath. He was a war orphan, brought up amongst families shattered by what had happened. The adults that surrounded him all bore scars, both internal and external. If you looked carefully, you could still see the terrors that plagued them. There were still hushed whispers of nightmares, still moments when conversation stopped and they were lost to memory. How many more students at Hogwarts felt the same suffocation that he did? How many more had sat through lessons that resonated far more deeply than they should, before retreating to a dormitory to pull themselves together before returning to the normality of the rest of the day?

"I'd never really thought about what it was like for anyone else," Teddy admitted.

Neville smiled kindly. "I think you've had enough on your plate. Just know that you're not alone in this, that plenty of other students here fear what could happen if they speak out of turn. This castle holds too many secrets." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not going to lie to you and say no one would be bothered if you turned around and said that your dad was a werewolf. However I do believe that things are getting better, that people are beginning to see things differently. Don't be scared of who you are, Teddy, and don't ever be ashamed of your father. He did so much good."

Teddy nodded. No more words would come.

"You could always try talking to Victoire about how you're feeling," Neville suggested tentatively.

Teddy made a noncommittal noise.

"She does understand what you're going through, you know? We've had quite a lot of chats about werewolves and the prejudices against them, actually. I think Hermione is rubbing off on her." He chuckled to himself. "True, she hasn't suffered the same as you have, she doesn't live with the same prejudices but she has a lot more idea than most people and she cares about you Teddy, she really, really does."

Teddy remained silent. Ever since THAT conversation, things between Victoire and him had failed to return to what they once were. They exchanged pleasantries when they bumped into each other around school, made small talk at family events and played chess or Quidditch together at The Burrow to pass time when the babies were becoming too tiresome, but it wasn't like it used to be. She had hurt him in a way that he couldn't quite forgive, so that he felt like he could never fully trust her again. That wasn't to say that there weren't times when he desperately wanted to seek her out; he had walked over to the Gryffindor table so many times, only to turn back again, written so many letters that he had letter torn apart...

"She asks about you all the time, you know? Cries sometimes, wishing she could make things better."

Teddy didn't want to admit that he knew. He still watched her, of course. Sometimes he would morph into someone else, so he could follow her down the corridor, make sure that she was okay. From what he observed however, she was still busy being little miss perfect Gryffindor, with her giggling friends and gaggle of admirers. What was the point in having heart to hearts that would just open old wounds again?

Neville sighed. "You should find someone to talk to though, Teddy. Don't keep all of this bottled up inside; it's not healthy. You're a teenager, you need to live a little, have some fun." He lowered his voice, glancing suspiciously at the walls. "From what Harry has said, your dad was a bit of a mischief maker...go and celebrate his life by playing a prank or two, I know you have enough contacts to keep you supplied in that department...we could all do with a laugh from time to time!"

Teddy did his best to smile.

A/N: So I've jumped ahead in time a bit here; however I will be feeling in some gaps in the next few chapters.

Thank you so much for all of your reviews, favourites and follows, it's so nice to know people are reading this!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: In which Teddy and Victoire channel their inner Ron and Hermione

...

Teddy spent that night lying awake, pondering everything Neville had said. He fantasised about a conversation where he told his friends about his father, after which they exclaimed how cool werewolves were and laughed about his father's role in the Shrieking Shack's reputation.

Unfortunately, what Teddy considered a far more realistic picture, kept edging the first one out. In this version, Teddy's confession was met with looks of horror and although they tried to hide their anxieties, his friends spent less and less time with him and he was left horribly alone.

He thought of Emily Jenkins, a pretty fourth year who laughed at his jokes, was ridiculously impressed that he was a Metamorphmagus and had agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him the following weekend. He imagined she would change her mind fairly quickly if the word werewolf came into play.

No, it was definitely going to be a secret he was keeping for a while longer.

...

Teddy felt irritated as he trudged down to breakfast the following morning. He had tossed and turned all night and would much rather have stayed in bed than listen to Professor Binns drone on about Goblin Rebellions. His thoughts were deeply preoccupied as he set foot in the Great Hall, until a loud shriek jolted him back to his present surroundings.

"What does it matter if someone has been attacked by a werewolf?"

Without even looking, he knew who the voice was coming from. The sheer volume of it had made half of the student body turn around and stare. He followed their glances.

Victoire was glaring venomously at one of the fifth year Gryffindors, who looked terrified.

"It doesn't change who they are as a person!" Victoire continued to screech. "You have no right to speak about people like that!"

Teddy noticed even the staff had stopped eating to observe what was going on. Neville, who already had some experience of Victoire's temper, was making his way over. Teddy followed him.

"Er, everything alright, Miss Weasley, Mr Hodgeson?"

Daniel Hodgeson looked down at his shoes. "Fine, Sir," he mumbled.

Victoire shot Neville her brightest smile. "Of course, Professor Longbottom." It always amazed Teddy how she could go from screaming banshee one minute to sunny, starry eyed Veela the next.

"Good, good. Now I think the two of you had better be getting off to your classes. I think you have made your point very clear, Miss Weasley. I'm sure Mr Hodgeson realises that he spoke out of turn and will refrain from doing so in the future." Neville winked at Teddy, obviously relieved to have avoided a show-down and sauntered back to his breakfast.

Victoire picked up her bag to leave but Teddy grabbed her arm.

"What was that all about?"

"He was being an absolute jerk, Teddy, spouting all this dung about werewolves."

"Still, you don't have to go around screaming at people. You're not at home now, you know. You've got to start acting a bit more grown up."

He was toeing the line, he knew that. Any second now and she'd be off again.

As he expected, her face was getting redder.

"Well, someone needed to say something to him. I heard about the lesson you had yesterday. Loads of people had a big debate about it in the common room. Funny, they didn't mention anything about Teddy Lupin championing the werewolf cause."

"Don't!" Teddy warned. "Not here!"

He grabbed her arm again and pulled her from the hall, ignoring her protests and the stares of those they passed. Reaching an empty classroom, he dragged her inside.

He found himself suddenly furious at her. Everything that had been building up within him suddenly came rushing forwards. How dare she say all of those terrible things about werewolves then criticize him for not standing up for them! How dare she come to Hogwarts and start prancing around like some pretty Veela princess, then start shouting and screaming and demanding attention over an issue that needed to be treated with such caution! How dare she shut herself away in Gryffindor tower and stop being his best friend, when everything in his life felt like it was falling apart and she was the only person in the world he could be truly honest with!

"What on earth are you doing Teddy? You can't tell me what to do anymore than anyone else. What right do you have to –"

"I have every right to stop you making a fool of yourself! To stop you from saying something and making a fool out of me!"

"In case you didn't notice, I was trying to stand up for our dads!"

"Is that what you're calling it? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like a cry for attention. The whole defender of the innocent act really doesn't wash with me! I know exactly what your thoughts are on werewolves."

"How dare you! I've told you time and time again that I didn't mean it, that I know your dad was kind and lovely and brave and wonderful and...I've said I'm sorry, so many times. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I don't know how else to make it up to you Teddy, how else I can change things. I only meant that the man who attacked my dad was cruel and vicious and-"

Her face was getting redder, her eyes angrier. Teddy didn't care. Suddenly, every negative thing he had ever heard about werewolves seemed to be her fault; it was as if those few innocent comments, said so long ago now, epitomized every reason Teddy had to be fearful of who he was, who his father was.

"It was quite clear what you meant. Is that what you think about me too? That I'm some sort of monster?"

And that was when she slapped him. A full on, hard as she could muster, loaded with feeling, slap.

"You know I've never thought that. I would never think that about you, or your dad. Your my best friend Teddy, you always have been, always will be. I'd do anything for you...I'll do anything to make this right."

Her voice had changed completely, her expression had softened. She looked...sad.

"You've got a bloody funny way of showing it!"

Teddy wasn't letting her off the hook that easily. What sort of best friend acted like she had done?

"Where have you been, Victoire? If you've been my best friend, where have you been when I needed you? When I've been lying awake night after night, plagued by nightmares, desperately needing someone to talk to? Where've you been then?"

The feeling of triumph rose within him as he saw her eyes darkening again.

"I've tried, Teddy, believe me I've tried. I came to your common room night after night, I came up to you at meal times, I sat with you for Quidditch...and you shut me out. For the first time in your life you shut me out."

"No, you pushed me away. You ran off with your Gryffindor friends, being all valiant and noble and stuck up...yes, stuck up...and you didn't want to know me. Why should a Gryffindor bother with the likes of Hufflepuff?"

"It doesn't matter-"

"Don't pretend, Victoire. You never had any intention of maintaining our friendship, ever since we got here. As soon as you had the rest of the world at your fingertips, why would you bother with me?"

"I spent time with you every chance I got! Do you have any idea what it's like, being the first Weasley back at Hogwarts? Do you have any idea what sort of reputation I have to live up to? I know your parents were war heroes, but so were my whole family. Everyone wants to know if I'm as brave as all of them; they want to know if I'm as clever as my father or if I'm as beautiful as Maman, the Triwizard Champion. They want to know if I can fly as well as Ginny and Charlie or if I'm as loyal as Ron, if I'm funny like George or studious like Percy...in fact they expect me to be all of these things and somehow I'm supposed to pull it all off!"

He couldn't believe her. Here she was, once again, trying to turn things around and make herself look like the one who was hard done by. How could he ever expect her to understand the hollowness he felt inside?

"At least you have a family. Imagine coming to Hogwarts and having to tell everyone your parents are dead. Imagine coming to Hogwarts and having to hide who your father is."

"Then tell them Teddy. Tell them that he was good and brave and that he never hurt a soul. Tell them and I'll stand by your side and hold your hand if you want and I'll defend him in any way I can."

He wanted to believe her, he really, really did yet she still had no idea how much she had hurt him. Her eyes met his and he saw the tears forming there.

She blinked them back, defiantly. "You can't spend the rest of your life sulking about something you can't change, Teddy. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and embrace who you are."

Feeling sorry for himself? His anger came rushing back as quickly as it had left him. He wasn't feeling sorry for himself! Anyway, even if he was, he would be perfectly justified because his parents were dead and his father was being unjustly criticised and it wasn't fair. He wanted to yell at her and tell her that because of a chain of events she had set off, he had started having nightmares and had spent many sleepless nights worrying about what would happen if anyone found out about his father's true identity. He wanted to rant and rave and tell her how he frequently questioned everything about himself because despite everything Harry and his grandmother had told him, he still didn't feel like he knew who he was and he was fed up of his life being one big secret.

But as he looked at her again and saw that the tears she had so desperately tried to blink away had now consumed her, he couldn't help but open out his arms to her, because who else would offer to stand by his side and face the world with him, whatever it may throw his way?

As she sobbed into his chest, tears that he knew were real tears and not ones put on for show, he realised that she had been an eleven year old girl who had made a mistake and had spent every day since determined to make up for it. She was a girl who, despite creating an aura of primness and propriety, was also brave enough to stand up for what she believed in, even if it meant making a fool out of herself. He realised that the Victoire in his arms was the girl he had grown up with; a girl who was loving and kind and was heartbroken if she upset someone else. Yes, she had her flaws, but they only made her human. Teddy considered how perfect Victoire always made herself out to be. She was the model daughter and granddaughter, the dutiful older sister, fiercely loyal and intelligent and always immaculately presented. He guessed that was a pretty big act for some to keep up.

"I'm so sorry, Teddy, for everything."

He held her tighter. "I know. Me too. "

"Can we go back to the way things were, before everything? Before Hogwarts?"

"I'd like that."

A warm feeling suddenly spread through his chest. Everything felt as if it was going to be alright.

...

On their next train journey home, Victoire joined him in his carriage, as promised. Teddy steeled himself as he prepared to broach the subject of his father.

"There's something I need to tell you, about my dad," he began.

The others their conversations and turned to look at him.

Teddy took a deep breath. "The thing is, he was a-"

"Werewolf." Josh completed.

Teddy blinked at him and looked around at the others, who met his gaze with bashful expressions.

"We know, mate." Aiden confessed. "Have done since first year, ever since we found out who you were...with Harry and all that. Our parents knew who he was. Told us about how brave he'd been. You should be proud of him."

"You...you don't mind? You're not scared of me or anything?"

Josh laughed. "Course not. How many times have we told you how cool it is that you're related to so many heroes?"

Teddy beamed and turned hopefully to Emily, who, to his relief, was smiling.

"You knew too?"

She nodded and pulled a revised edition of 'Hogwarts: A History' out of her bag. "It's all in here. I can't believe you haven't read it, Teddy. There's lots about Harry in here, and about your family too, Victoire."

Victoire smiled politely. "Right, I'm going to go and find Millie. I'll see you on the platform, Teddy."

Teddy watched her go. For some reason she hadn't quite warmed to Emily as much as he'd have hoped. Ah well, there was time yet. He smiled at those in the carriage around him. For the first time in ages, he felt well and truly content.


	13. Chapter 13

Teddy stared out of his bedroom window at the large hanging orb of the moon, thinking.

As a child, he had noticed his grandmother hardly slept on the night of a full moon. Habit, she had said. He hadn't realised until years later that the habit came from fear.

Ever since she had told him about his father, the full moon had filled him with concern. Originally it was a concern that he too would turn into a werewolf. As he grew older and became secure in the knowledge that that wouldn't happen, it became a reflective time, when he thought about the hardships his father had endured.

The nightmares he had suffered while he had been at Hogwarts had always been worse on the night of a full moon too. There had been a time when he obsessively followed the pattern of the moon, as he knew his father must have done. Since everything had come out into the open however, he found he slept much easier at night and could go months at a time without worrying about the lunar cycle.

It was only when he returned home and heard his grandmother shuffling about that he was reminded of its significance.

His mind drifted to Victoire. It seemed that Bill too was always restless on the night of the full moon, something which impacted on his whole family. Teddy found it unusual that in all their years of sharing secrets, this revelation had only come about in the last year. Victoire had confided that she regularly failed to sleep on such nights, something she tried to hide from her parents; what is the point in making a stressful time even worse, she had questioned.

He wondered what she was up to now. Knowing her, probably studying. Teddy glanced at the Transfiguration book lying at the side of his trunk. No, not tonight.

He listened carefully for any other sounds from the room next door. Maybe she had fallen back to sleep?

The thought of returning to bed seemed unappealing right now. Instead, he felt the need to get out of the house, to get some air, to experience freedom. Now he had come of age, freedom was something that was wonderfully open to him. Grabbing a piece of parchment, he scribbled a note, in case she woke before he returned. He didn't want her to worry. Then, he Disapparated with a pop.

...

The cool night air felt delightfully refreshing to Teddy as he watched the waves crash rhythmically onto the rocks below. Despite the obvious power of the ocean, he had always found this such a peaceful spot. When they were younger, Fleur had forbidden them from walking this close to the edge, terrified they might fall. He still remembered the angry stream of French she had uttered as Bill, Charlie and Ginny had swooped along the coastline on their broomsticks with Victoire, Dom and him clinging on behind them. Victoire had cried and begged her father to put her down and he had been secretly pleased when Ginny had done the same, but Dom had shrieked and squealed with delight as Charlie flirted with the waves and looped around the rocks.

He glanced towards the cottage a little way along the coast. As he had imagined, a soft light glowed in the upper, far right window. For now however, his attention was taken by the open space in between, where a figure darted and dived much as she had done that afternoon so many years ago.

He guessed she was plagued by the same tensions that affected her sister. The actions of Fenrir Greyback haunted them all.

He contemplated going to join her, but guessed she may be enjoying the solitude. Now that Victoire had deemed herself too old to spend time with the 'babies' and was using the excuse of her upcoming OWL year to get out of any babysitting duties, the responsibility seemed to have fallen to her sister. Teddy suspected that the early hours of the morning may be one of her few chances to fly uninterrupted. He knew she was desperate to make the Quidditch team this time and that her cousins weren't exactly proving themselves as helpful as they could be at helping her to practise. He began to walk over towards the house but she had already spotted him and swooped down in his path.

"Hop on. I'll take you up."

"Thanks."

He should have known not to trust her. After a few loops and an encounter or two with a wave, he found himself shaking slightly as he clambered in through Victoire's open window.

As he suspected, she was wide awake and reading, propped up on her bed with her long, brown legs stretched out in front of her.

She put the book down and motioned towards her parent's room next door. Teddy cast a silencing spell.

"I thought you might come."

He looked at her questioningly.

She shrugged. "Just a hunch."

Teddy glanced to her bedside table, to see what she had been reading. He was surprised to see their old notebooks there, the ones they had recorded all of their secrets in.

He laughed. "I'd forgotten these." He picked them up and began flicking through.

"I was clearing some things out, found them in the cupboard. Thought I might uncover deep, dark secret we had forgotten about. Can you believe the things we used to think were interesting back then?"

Teddy settled himself next to Victoire on her bed. He couldn't help but notice how warm she felt to snuggle up to and how nice she smelt. It suddenly occurred to him that Emily might not be too impressed that he was in Victoire's bedroom in the middle of the night. The two of them had never quite managed to get along. He pushed the thought away and began to read.

A lot of the notes seemed childlike now. Still, it was interesting to read what they had written. It was only when he got to the end that a thought struck Teddy. He was sure that he had written something about his grandmother's sister, Bellatrix. He flicked through again. There was no mention of her, but he did find something curious. A page seemed to have been ripped out just about where he thought the entry should have been.

He posed the question to Victoire.

"Really? I have no idea," she laughed, but the laugh wasn't completely natural.

"Well you're the only other one that used the notebooks. There was definitely something there about her."

"Are you sure Teddy? It was years ago, you must be remembering it wrong. Maybe you wrote it down somewhere else?"

"I'm telling you, it was there. It was on that page that's gone."

"And I'm telling you that I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe it's time you went home."

She stared at him, her eyes darkening.

Teddy stared back. She knew something, he could tell. That girl was so infuriating.

"Victoire, I haven't pulled a page out of these books and one is missing. What happened to it? No more secrets, remember."

She pulled her legs up to her chest defensively and sighed.

"Fine. It's my fault the page isn't there. You were right. You left the notebooks with me when you went to Hogwarts and Dom found them. We argued, I tried to snatch them back and a page ripped. I pulled it out properly and hoped you wouldn't notice. I'm sorry. I should have told you."

She pouted slightly and gave him an apologetic hug. Her body felt soft and comforting next to his own and he suddenly felt incredibly hot.

"It's fine." He hoped she hadn't noticed that his face was flushed. "Look, you're right, I should go. Everyone will be up soon."

He gave her an awkward wave and Disapparated, failing to notice the relief on her face.


	14. Chapter 14

Teddy marched through the common room and headed towards his dormitory. He had just returned from the Hufflepuff - Gryffindor Quidditch match, which had lasted nearly four hours and wasn't nearly as pleasant as it could have been, with the bitter wind and rain and then Hufflepuff losing. He was cold and wet and to make matters worse, had ended up returning to the changing rooms with Josh, who, as Quidditch Captain, hadn't taken the loss well. Teddy was just about to enter his dormitory when he heard voices coming from further down the corridor. He spotted two boys from the year below him and tucked himself in the doorway, where they wouldn't notice him.

"Lewis did have a point though. Would she have got onto the team if her name wasn't Weasley?"

"I dunno. She's a pretty good Quidditch player."

"That's not what Lewis said; he reckons Priya only put her on there because she wants to get herself a trial with the Harpies. Her aunt used to play for them, the one that's married to Harry Potter."

"Still, Lewis didn't have to go mouthing off about it."

"He was just sore he didn't get the snitch, that's all. Don't think he'd have said it if he realised her sister was in earshot though."

Teddy realised he was holding his breath. The conversation about Dominque and Victoire had certainly peaked his interest. What had Victoire gone and done now?

"That girl's a maniac! I swear she's channelling dark magic. I'm glad it wasn't me at the end of her wand. Lewis is lucky he's still got all of his parts intact."

Teddy felt a swell of pride for his friend. Victoire had certainly built herself a reputation at Hogwarts, partially for her temper but mostly for her skilled wand work. He had it on Neville's authority that the whole of the teaching staff thought she was something special. If anyone could defend themselves against arrogant, self righteous bigots it was her.

"I don't know, I think he'd quite like Victoire Weasley near some of his parts!"

"Who wouldn't?"

The boys chuckled.

Teddy's pride turned into something else. How dare they talk about Victorie like that? Aiming to stop their conversation before it got any further, he stepped back out into the path of the boys.

They both turned red, realising he had heard everything.

"Oh, sorry Ted, she's your cousin or something isn't she?"

"It doesn't bother you, does it? You have to admit, she is pretty hot."

Teddy walked back into the dormitory, disgusted.

He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but actually yes, it did bother him. It wasn't the first time it had happened either. Obviously he wasn't going around listening to other people's conversations, but Victoire's name seemed to come up an awful lot, considering she wasn't in his year or in his house. And it had far more to do with her looks than anything else.

Charming, clever and always smiling, Victoire was adored wherever she went. She looked almost angelic as she pranced around the castle, laughing and teasing with her many friends. Even when her temper raised its head, as it was often wont to do, her outbursts always had cause and she was never reprimanded too harshly. She never argued for pure arguments sake, but instead took on the role of defender of the meek, the sidelined or the defenceless. Victoire was proud of who she was and had been raised to fear nothing and no one. She wouldn't think twice about standing up to someone two or three years older than her, if she believed her cause to be just, or even arguing against a teacher if she believed it right. Teddy was used to the adoration that surrounded her now and had learnt to take it all in his stride. What he was finding troublesome however, was that the talk that surrounded her had gone from Victoire Weasley, Hogwarts' Heroine to Victoire Weasley, Hogwarts' Hottie.

That wasn't to say that he didn't appreciate the changes that had happened to Victoire over the last few years. He distinctly recalled a moment at The Burrow last summer, when he had found her sunbathing by the pond. Her bikini left little to the imagination and he found it took a good few weeks to get the image out of his head. The way some of the boys at Hogwarts spoke about her though, you'd think she was pure Veela. Maybe it was a good job she was so good at defending herself. In fact, she was perfectly capable of looking after herself, her sister and her cousins without so much as putting a hair out of place.

The mood in the common room was rather sombre after the Quidditch defeat. Deciding he wasn't really in the right frame of mind for picking apart the faults of the game with Josh, or listening to the bad mouthing of Dom, he slunk off to the library to make a start on an essay. He had written about four lines when he felt something bounce off his head.

"Oi, Teddy."

He glanced around, already knowing who the whisper belonged to.

"I thought you'd be busy celebrating your sister's success?"

Victoire slid into the chair beside him. "Nah, there will be plenty more of those, I'm sure. I'm hiding from Tommy."

Teddy raised his eyebrows quizzically. He'd heard a rumour that Tommy Prichard had asked Victoire out, but hadn't managed to catch her alone since to question her about it.

"Hiding from him?"

Victoire blushed. "He's a bit...intense...and won't leave me alone...it's getting awfully boring. All he wants to do is walk everywhere holding my hand and tell me how wonderful I am."

"How tragic." Teddy rolled his eyes. He very much doubted that was all Tommy wanted to do. In all honesty he thought the guy was a bit of a creep. Incredibly good looking, but not an ideal choice of boyfriend. If it was anyone other than Victoire he'd have told them to be careful, but he knew she would have cursed Tommy's hand off had it gone anywhere she didn't want it to.

Victoire giggled. "How's Meera?"

Ah, Meera. After he had broken up with Emily at the start of the year, for reasons that had far more to do with Victoire than he would care to let on, Meera had become his sort of girlfriend. They had been to Hogsmeade together and hung out by the lake a few times but that was it; it wasn't really the dashing romance Teddy had hoped for. She was a year younger than him year, in Ravenclaw, so they didn't have any classes together and the recent cold, miserable weather had put stop to the strolls they had previously enjoyed. He thought that the few kisses they had shared would be the start of a passionate love affair but it seemed it wasn't to be. He hadn't even seen her at the Quidditch match earlier. He vaguely wondered whether she had gone with someone else and found he didn't really care.

"That good, eh?" Victoire interrupted Teddy's thoughts.

"So what are you going to do about Tommy?" Teddy turned the attention back to her.

"Oh, he'll get bored soon enough. When he realises he's not going to get what he wants. Then he'll break up with me and move onto someone else."

Teddy failed to understand her logic. Tommy was the third boy she'd entered this pattern with. She never seemed to take much enjoyment from spending time with them, yet always waited for them to end it with her.

"Why do you do it? Why do you date them in the first place?"

Victorie giggled again. "It's hard work being a strong, independent woman Teddy...I'm not stupid, I know what they all say about me...I know how they look at me. I just...it would just be nice if one of them wanted me for who I was, not what I looked like. I keep hoping that one of them will be that guy, the one that cares about the inside of me as much as the outside." 

Victoire sighed. Teddy sensed this had been on her mind for a while. "I know that Maman and Dad gave up so much for us, so that we could have a future where we could do whatever we wanted. And that Uncle Fred died and your parents..." she eyed him warily. "And I do want to do something with my life. I want to be able to make a difference, just like they all have. But at the same time, is it so wrong to want someone to love me whilst I'm doing it? Do I always have to be Victoire, the one who comes to the rescue? Can't I ever have someone who looks out for me?"

Teddy was unsure of what to say. It was rare to see Victorie so vulnerable. Even when she was at home or at The Burrow, she played the role of the strong, older sister, eldest cousin of the Weasley clan, determined to protect the honour of the rest of them.

Feeling uncomfortable, he decided humour was the only option. "I wouldn't worry yet. You know what your Dad says; you're much too young to have a boyfriend. I've been scared to talk to him for the last year, in case I let something slip and you hex me into oblivion."

Her blue eyes bore deep into his own. She smiled then, as if none of it really mattered, as if it had been such a trivial thing.

"Ah yes, and I certainly would if it came to it...but you, Teddy Lupin, you're not so young. You need to start making some decisions soon, yes? What do you want from life, Teddy Lupin?"

Teddy knew she wasn't after an honest answer, but after her speech he too found himself thinking more deeply. What did he want from life? He had never been able to imagine his life being much different to what it was now. Obviously he would be leaving Hogwarts at the end of the year and would have to get a job, but deep down he knew he didn't want too much in his life to change. He was happiest when he was hanging out with his friends, or at Harry's or at The Burrow, surrounded by everyone he knew.

He swallowed hard. "I guess what I really want is a family. I mean, my grandmother has always been great. She couldn't have raised me better, but it's not the same is it, as having your own parents? As having brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins...I guess I want my own family..." As he was saying it, a sudden, bizarre tingling feeling grew inside him and a thought he had long been suppressing seemed to suddenly overtake his brain. He bit the inside of his lip hard to stop himself from saying more, as he realised that completing that perfect image, of him and his children chasing around The Burrow, was the girl sat right in front of him.

A/N: I am really sorry for disappearing for so long, real life just got really big on me. I'll try and be better over the next few months.

Also I know that this chapter completely fails to address the 'Victoire's secret' issue I left hanging at the end of the last chapter, but it will all come together in the next chapter, when I get round to writing on it. Don't give up on me, I'm getting there!


	15. Chapter 15

All of a sudden, Victoire was all that Teddy could think about. It seemed every time he walked down a corridor he heard the Weasley name, every meal time she was sat in perfect view; he even kept bumping into her as she was leaving the Prefect's Bathroom, when she smelt of bubbles and flowers and utter perfection.

Desperately he tried to push her from his mind, convinced that there was something quite wrong in what he was feeling. After all, she was practically his cousin and the thoughts he was having definitely weren't those you were supposed to have towards a family member.

He had never been so grateful for moving staircases as when they prevented their paths colliding and he was ashamed to say that there had been more than one occasion when he had escaped into an empty classroom when he thought he saw her coming the other way. Prefect meetings were the worst when, as Head Boy, he was expected to give instruction with her sat, smiling, right in front of him. She must know, he thought to himself. He was convinced that he was failing to act like a normal human being and she knew him so well that it must be obvious that something was wrong. Thankfully she said nothing.

He spent the next month trying to decide whether to tell her. If he did, what would he say? What if she laughed at him? What if she didn't feel the same? He couldn't bear the thought of ruining their friendship. In the end, the answer seemed obvious. He would wait until the end of the school year. If he waited until he had finished at Hogwarts, at least he could escape if she said no. He could have space and time and, if necessary, could come up with a legitimate reason to leave the country.

Yes, that was the plan. For now, he needed to focus on his NEWTs and Head Boy duties and enjoy the rest of his final year. Victoire could wait.

That was the plan.

Then, James Potter came along and ruined everything.

...

As Teddy had spent so much of his childhood with Harry and Ginny, James was almost like a brother to him and they had always got on incredibly well. Like Victoire had done, James had spent the summer leading up to his first year at Hogwarts bombarding Teddy with questions and begging for stories, to which Teddy was only too happy to oblige. As eager as he was to have James at school with him, however, Teddy had learnt his lesson with Victoire. He knew that the chances of James being sorted into Hufflepuff were slim and that James would soon have his own friends.

Besides, James didn't come alone. September 1st also saw the arrival of Fred Weasley and together they formed an explosive duo. Teddy couldn't help but turn to watch Neville's face as Fred was sorted to join his cousin and thought he detected the slightest hint of fear behind the Professor's smiles at Gryffindor's newest recruits. He turned back to the Gryffindor table to see that Victoire, like Neville, was doing her best to look pleased. She was fiddling with the shining prefect's badge pinned to her chest and Teddy could only imagine her wondering how many minutes it would be before she had to exercise her authority over her cousins. Over the previous summer, Charlie and Percy had enlightened him and Victoire on the pressures they had faced, as a Prefect and Head Boy, of having Fred and George at school. The warning behind their stories was not missed and their advice was desperately taken.

To give them credit, James and Fred were always very respectful to his Head Boy commitments and would usually schedule their pranks for times when he was safely tucked out of the way. Anyway, it was very rare that they would get caught. It was as if they always knew when someone was going to be coming and had a way of disappearing at exactly the right moment. Teddy always wondered whether he should question Harry about it, but decided it may be safer not to. He was quite happy with his immunity to their pranks and wanted to keep it that way.

Unfortunately, Victoire was not so lucky. Dom was their natural ally, always willing to play a role in their pranks, whilst Molly was too laid back and kept herself to herself. But Victoire...catch her at the wrong moment and she would blow up like a game of Exploding Snap. Everyone else tried to avoid these outbursts but James and Fred loved to cause them. They seemed to get hours of amusement out of it and would go to great lengths to wind her up.

And so, as Teddy suddenly found it impossible to be in the same room as Victoire without losing his composure, she began to seek him out more and more, begging him to use any sway he had to get them to leave her alone.

Now was one of those moments. Teddy was trying desperately to concentrate on getting his tomato soup into his mouth and not all down the front of his robes whilst taking in what Victoire was saying, without looking at those beautiful blue eyes that he knew would be the undoing of him.

"He's just such a cocky prat," Victoire protested. "You'd think with Fred in detention he might calm down a bit, but he's worse. Thinks he's all that for not getting caught. And then he has the cheek to tease me about it, saying that I should have flattered Dave into getting Fred off. Why can't they just follow the rules like everyone else? Trust me to be related to such delinquents!"

Teddy took a chance on looking at her and instantly regretted it. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips pouting and she had begun to fiddle with her hair.

He took a deep breath. "He just wants a reaction. Don't let him get to you; he'll give up soon enough."

She huffed. "Easy for you to say. They'd never do anything to wind you up, they think you're brilliant."

Teddy chuckled. "Aren't I?"

She hit his arm playfully but immediately regained her serious composure. "It's not just that though. James has changed since he got here – maybe like I did – " she eyed him warily, "but he's become really full of himself. You don't get to see it, but in the common room he really plays up the 'son of Harry Potter' thing and he's always making out he's better than everyone else. Of course he should be proud of Harry and James is top of the class in everything, but it's just a bit too much sometimes. I thought maybe it was just me, but Tommy agreed and said the rest of the sixth years all think he's rather annoying."

"I didn't think you and Tommy were together anymore?" Teddy couldn't help but blurt out.

Victoire stared at him. Of course, that wasn't supposed to be the main point of that conversation. James. Say something about James.

Victoire started talking again before he could formulate conversation. "I changed my mind. It's nice having someone around when all you get is grief off eleven year olds every night. We don't all have the pleasure of being able to escape from the things that are bothering us."

The words cut through Teddy. Had she guessed what was going on? He had a horrible feeling that on those evenings when he had been trying to stay out of her way, Tommy had been the one there offering her comfort. Maybe he would need to rethink his strategy.

"I'm not meaning to escape things. I'm here if you need me, you know that." Instinctively he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Her eyes widened, staring deep into his own.

Teddy felt his heart beating faster and a tingling sensation spread through his body. Now was the moment. She was moving closer towards him, her lips were only a wands length from his own. It would be so easy to kiss her. He wanted to, so badly. He took a breath.

"Vic, you coming?"

Victoire turned scarlet and fumbled to give him a hug, before scrambling to the side of the Gryffindor sixth year.

Teddy clung to the bench for a moment, regaining his composure. Vic? She let him call her Vic? She hated nicknames and had always insisted that it was Victoire and nothing else. Bill and Charlie could get away with a well chosen term of endearment on a good day, but that was it.

Realising she was still hovering, he forced himself to stand. Tommy towered above them, his arm protectively around Victoire's shoulder. Teddy fought the urge to make himself taller.

"You'll speak to him then?" she asked, still a little pink.

Teddy could do nothing but nod.

...

Teddy tried to concern himself with thoughts of James, using these to push out the 'what ifs' that surrounded Victoire. It didn't work very well. He was convinced that she had wanted to kiss him too. Would it have happened, if they hadn't been interrupted?

He both dreaded and longed for the next time he got to see her alone. She was doing a very good job of surrounding herself with her girl friends, as if she was avoiding bumping into him unprotected. On the plus side, Tommy was nowhere to be seen. Teddy quietly persuaded his friends to keep an eye out around school, to try and work out exactly what the situation was. If she broke up with Tommy, would that be enough of a sign that it was him she wanted? Could he risk their friendship and their history on that?

Annoyingly, he felt that James could well be the key to it all. As much as he wanted to avoid having that conversation, for he couldn't see how James, who had been brought up to be so disparaging of the world of fame, would suddenly want to bask in it, he wasn't about to break his word to Victoire.

...

Teddy pinned James down two nights later. True to his easygoing nature, he was incredibly honest.

"It's hard you know, having Harry Potter as your dad. Everyone expects you to be this really special person, to be brilliant at everything...I didn't want to disappoint them. "

His words echoed those that Victoire had shared only a few years ago, a constant reminder of the pressures that still hung on the next generation, the children of war heroes.

"Just don't go overboard though James, no one likes a brag."

James pulled a face. "Victoire's just too sensitive, that's all." He laughed. "Don't give me that look. I know it's her who put you up to this. I know you get it though Teddy. You know what it's like being around my dad and how people act around him, how people expect you to know everything when actually it feels like your life is one big secret."

Teddy chuckled. He knew exactly how James felt.

"At least Fred is there to fill in the gaps," James continued. "Uncle George has a tendency to tell him things he shouldn't, whereas Dad is a bit too good at remembering when to stop talking. It's like you and Victoire. She's amazing at getting things out of people, so then she can fill you in on all the things you need to know. Not that she'll tell me anything. I've tried asking her about that big chat she had with Dad about Grandma and your mum last summer, the one Mum stopped me listening to with the Extendable Ears. Except she said it wasn't her place to say anything, which is funny, because that's exactly what Dad said too. That's what they always say when they're talking about the war and what happened at Hogwarts though, isn't it? I bet they've told you stuff though, haven't they? I bet you don't have to put up with all of these secrets, not now you're of age. Oh, I can't wait to be older so I can find things out. It's rubbish being kept in the dark all of the time." He paused, noticing Teddy's silence.

Teddy had stopped listening. Victoire had been to see Harry, to talk about his mum? His mind began to whirl as it entered into a thousand possibilities.

Quickly he made his excuses and returned to his dormitory. Now his mind strayed to Victoire for completely different reasons. Hadn't they agreed that they would be completely honest with each other, that there wouldn't be any more secrets? That was a lie. He fought back the urge to go and find her, to find out what in Merlin's name was going on. He would deal with her later. First, he needed to speak to Harry.

A/N: So that chapter went in a completely different direction to what I originally had planned and ended it up being a lot fluffier, but there you go.


	16. Chapter 16

"Make sure you read the chapter in detail before next week and if you want to practise, make sure you use plenty of cushions!" Harry's voice drew to a close.

Teddy looked up to see his fellow seventh year Defence students deserting the classroom. He was oblivious to whatever Harry had been talking about for the last hour, his mind deeply preoccupied. This was it, this was his moment.

Since his chat with James last week, every spare thought had been directed towards this meeting.

Avoiding Victoire had been the hardest thing. Every part of him had wanted to challenge her, to find out exactly what she had been talking to Harry about, to find out why she hadn't told him. Deep down he knew he needed to speak to Harry first however. There would be no confusion with Harry; he could demand a straight answer and not let any other feelings get in the way.

The wait had been torturous. He knew if he'd have sent an owl Harry would have come sooner, but he didn't want a nicely prepared speech. He wanted brutal honesty, the honesty he should have had years ago.

"How's it going Teddy?" Harry beamed at him, unsuspecting. "I'm meeting James for tea in Neville's office. Are you going to join us?"

Teddy didn't smile. If he strayed into niceties he would lose his nerve. Instead he walked slowly up to his godfather, his expression unreadable.

"Teddy?"

Harry looked concerned now. He knew that something wasn't right. He was an Auror, for Merlin's sake. It was his job to pick up on odd behaviour.

It was now or never. Teddy took a deep breath.

"What happened to my parents, at the Battle of Hogwarts? We've never got past 'they died'. What happened to them?"

Harry's eyes widened and he ran a hand through his hair.

"James told me you spoke to Victoire about it. Funny that neither of you bothered to mention anything to me."

Harry ran his hand through his hair again, his face impassive. "Do you want to chat about this here or shall we go to Neville's office? I can stall James for a bit."

Teddy didn't move. "Here's fine."

Harry dragged out a chair and sat down, motioning for Teddy to do the same.

"Why have you never told me what happened to them?" Teddy's voice was filled with a hardness he didn't know he possessed.

"You know I've never deliberately tried to keep anything from you. There were just some things that didn't need to be said. Not until you were ready."

"Until I was ready? And when was that going to be? Why is everyone around here such a hypocrite? You all talk about me not being old enough but when you were my age you defeated Voldemort!" Teddy hadn't meant to shout but he found he didn't care. It was true. He was an adult now; he was fed up of being treated like a child.

"It's not an easy story to hear, however old you are. It's a hard story for everyone."

"I don't see how it affects anyone else! They were my parents."

Harry stared at him, almost angrily. "Surely you know by now that no one escaped that battle in one piece. Speaking about it is difficult...for everyone." His expression softened. "I know what it's like to grow up with no parents, Teddy; I know what it's like to hear rumours, to feel like you're being left in the dark. What I have also learnt, however, is that some things need to be treated cautiously."

Teddy scowled. He had given Harry seventeen years of caution. He wanted answers.

"You know that everyone was fighting here at Hogwarts. The Death Eaters had stormed the castle. It was hard to keep track of what was going on." Harry took a deep breath. "I didn't see either of your parents die...but I heard what happened from others. Your father was killed by a man called Dolohov, he was one of the strongest, most capable Death Eaters; he would have to be to take down Remus."

Teddy turned the name over in his head. Dolohov. It sounded vaguely familiar. He briefly wondered what had happened to him, but a more important question hung between them. Harry's edginess indicated that this was the question he was reluctant to answer.

"And my mum?"

"She was going to stay at home; she was going to stay with you. Only she couldn't bear the thought of everyone else here fighting and her not knowing what was going on. She couldn't bear not knowing what was going on with your dad, so she came to join us..."

Teddy swallowed hard, feeling a strange sensation of emptiness inside. He didn't know how to take that. She had left him, left him behind, knowing what the consequences could be. It was a thought he had suppressed for a long time and one he needed to ignore for a while longer. He steeled himself for his next question.

"Who killed her?"

When it came, the answer didn't surprise him. Maybe he had known for a long time, through the whispers and worried glances, through the documents stashed away where he couldn't see them.

"Bellatrix Lestrange; her aunt - your grandmother's sister."

Teddy felt sick. Family. His grandmother had always said that she wanted nothing to do with the Blacks, that she didn't want to be associated with them, but he thought it was just because of their reputation.

He remembered the day in Diagon Alley when a wizard had mistaken his grandmother for her sister, how she had dragged him away as quickly as she could. He remembered how pale she had turned when he mentioned the name later on, how he had desperately wanted to find out more, but she had refused to say a thing.

He had gone and written down what he knew, in the notebook, on the page that had disappeared...

He recalled the look on Victoire's face, the fake laugh, the suggestion he leave.

It hadn't been ripped out by accident at all. It had been ripped out in the hope that he would forget. It had been ripped out because she knew.

He was running down the corridor before he'd even thought about how to react to the news. He wasn't sure what was hurting more, the knowledge his mum had been killed by her own aunt or the realisation that nobody had bothered to tell him...that Victoire hadn't bothered to tell him.

He had spent the last week convincing himself that the reason she hadn't said anything about talking to Harry was because she hadn't found out anything new, because Harry had refused to tell her anything, but that wasn't true at all. They had been there together, talking about his mum, talking about him and nobody thought it was important enough that he should be told too.

All of the feelings he had been trying to make sense of recently, his idea of a future with her...that was obviously a joke. Was this how he was always going to be treated? As a poor orphan who couldn't quite cope with the truth? Didn't they think he deserved to know? He hated them all: the students who gaped at him as he ran past, who had little to worry about in their carefree lives, Harry for his silence, his grandmother for being related to such pure evil, his parents for leaving him in this mess and Victoire for failing to help him out of it.

He was vaguely aware that he was crying, but his sobs became lost amongst the deep pants caused by his sudden exertion. Still, he didn't stop until he was facing the Fat Lady.

"Let me see her, I need to see Victoire Weasley."

"You're not a Gryffindor. Absolutely no entry for members of other houses," the Fat Lady stated.

"I need to see her," Teddy snarled.

"Manners, manners. You'll have to wait."

"I won't bloody wait!" Teddy snapped. "Let me in!"

"Now there's no need to be rude. You cannot enter this common room."

Teddy turned around and kicked the wall opposite. At that moment a couple of first years arrived. Teddy seized his opportunity and shoved them aside as soon as they had uttered the password, ignoring the Fat Lady's shrieks of "intruder!"

Silence descended in the common room as every face turned around to stare at the cause of the commotion. Teddy didn't care.

He didn't need to look far for her. She was already rising from a sofa in the far corner, casually shaking out her long hair and walking elegantly across the common room towards him. She didn't offer up a word, merely motioned for him to follow her. Perfect Victoire Weasley. Perfect liar more like. Still, Teddy turned round after her, back out through the portrait hole, thumping the wall once more for good measure.

He was vaguely aware that James and Fred had followed them too, but Victoire glared at them and they retreated in silence.

"In here."

She led him into an empty classroom. Teddy slammed the door behind them.

"I've just been chatting to Harry about Bellatrix Lestrange," Teddy snarled. "Funny thing is, I think you already know what she did, don't you? You knew and you never told me!"

Victoire said nothing. Teddy took her lack of response as an opportunity to carry on with his tirade.

"What about sharing everything with each other, Victoire? I found out from James that you went to see Harry last summer and that you've been carrying around some sort of secret ever since and today I find out that you knew who killed my mother! You knew and you didn't bother to tell me! Why not, Victoire? Couldn't you find the time in all of your worrying about James and Fred? Or maybe Harry told you not to? I've always told you things, whatever anyone else has said. But you, precious little Victoire, you've got to do the right thing all the time, haven't you? Well, what about what's right for me?"

Teddy braced himself for the return onslaught. In fact he wanted nothing more than to have a screaming match with her right now. Instead she remained infuriatingly silent.

"She killed my mother! She was family but still she killed my mother. Didn't you think I had the right to know?"

"It wasn't my place to tell you, Teddy." Victoire said quietly.

"Let me guess...you were trying to protect me? Bloody hell, haven't I got enough people trying to protect me? I thought I could trust you to be the one person to always tell me the truth? It's my family. I deserve to know. Why won't anyone ever tell me what happened?"

"I wasn't protecting you," Victoire stated defiantly. "I didn't even mean to find out about your mum. I was just trying to help Grandma. I thought Harry would know what to do."

Taken aback, Teddy looked at her curiously. "I don't understand."

"Do you know what happened to her," she continued cautiously. "To Bellatrix?"

"I know she's dead." Teddy spat. That too filled him with anger. How dare she be dead? How dare she have an easy way out? Why couldn't she have survived and gone to Azkhaban, be made to suffer every day for taking his mum away from him?

"Grandma killed her. She tried to kill Ginny, just after Uncle Fred died. Her and Grandma got into a duel and she killed her." She stared at him for a moment, almost challenging him to say something. "She still has nightmares about it, about what would have happened if she hadn't been able to defeat her. I guess you wouldn't have noticed how she never sleeps when we stop over? She doesn't want to scare us if she has a bad dream, so she stops up all night. I heard her shouting in her sleep once, shouting Bellatrix's name; Maman and Dad wouldn't tell me about it so I asked Harry. Honestly Teddy, I never meant to find out about your mum; Harry was telling me about some of the things she had done and it came out. We both agreed that it was Andromeda's place to tell you, not ours. Don't be too hard on either of them though, they were only trying to -"

"Look out for me? That's what everyone keeps telling me. It doesn't work though, does it? It never makes any of this any easier." It was as if all of the emotions inside Teddy were suddenly colliding. He wanted to scream some more, to punch things, to break them yet at the same time he just wanted to run away, to be somewhere quiet and completely alone. He could tell his hair and eyes were changing, yet he was powerless to stop them. Victoire's arms wrapped around him and as much as he wanted to push her off, he couldn't find the energy.

"I know you hate me right now," she whispered, "but I'm here for you. Always."

Unable to respond, Teddy began to sob.


	17. Chapter 17

They were still clutching onto each other when Harry and Neville found them a short while later. Gentle words prised them apart and Neville led the weeping Victoire away, leaving Teddy alone with his godfather.

"I'm taking you home."

Teddy knew there was no point resisting. As the events of the afternoon reeled around in his head, he was oblivious to anything going on around him as he walked back through the maze of corridors and struggled to comprehend whatever Harry was telling him. He was relieved when he was directed towards the roaring fire in Neville's office; at least the journey home would be a quick one.

Andromeda was there waiting as soon as he stepped from the fireplace. Her arms had never felt so welcome; her smile had never been so needed. With a sudden desperation he began to talk, filled with the absolute need to answer all of the questions that now hung in his head. Firmly she shook her head and handed him a sleeping potion.

"Tomorrow Teddy, tomorrow I will tell you everything, but tonight you need to rest."

It sounded like a promise that had been made before, a promise that was never quite fulfilled, but the stern look that Harry gave him prevented him from protesting. He took the potion and went upstairs, falling asleep to the soft lull of voices from below.

...

The following week was rather surreal. Conversation followed conversation and stories were shared that had long been suppressed. Photo albums appeared that he had never seen before as his grandmother delved into stories from the childhood she had tried so hard to forget. Teddy could see the anguish in her eyes as she spoke about her estranged family, but still she continued, insisting that Teddy had been kept in the dark for long enough.

Finally she handed him an envelope, sealed with a crest adorned with serpents.

"It's from Narcissa," she told him. "She sent it for you, a month or so after the war ended. I have no idea what is in it or why she sent it, but there's some sort of curse on it that made it impossible for me to get rid of it, so I resolved to keep it until you were old enough to make your own choices."

Teddy shook his head and handed it back to her. Now wasn't the right time. Whatever the letter said, he wasn't sure he had any forgiveness left in him for the family that had caused his grandmother so much pain. There had been enough heartache in the last few days; he wasn't about to expose either of them to any more.

Victoire was allowed home for the weekend, at Neville's discretion, and the two of them went to see Molly, who held them tight and cried at the thought she had caused so much upset. Again the evening was spent in deep conversation and remembrance, as the two teenagers tried to make sense of something that had shaped their lives so much.

...

On his first day back at Hogwarts, Neville requested Teddy join him in his office for dinner. Teddy expected it to be a check up on how he was feeling, but the conversation quickly got much deeper.

"It's normal to feel angry...not just at Bellatrix and Dolohov, but at everyone else too."

Teddy frowned. What did Neville know? He had probably lost friends in the war, like Harry, but it wasn't the same...

"She tortured my parents," Neville stated simply. "Bellatrix."

Teddy looked at him, horrified.

"I spent months bring furious at Molly for taking away my opportunity for revenge. I wanted to see her suffer the way my parents suffered, I wanted her to pay for all of the damage she had caused...not just to me but for everyone...I was livid that she got an easy way out, when everyone else had to suffer...when I had to grow up without my mum and dad..."

It was another harrowing story for Teddy to hear, yet it put one more piece back into the puzzle, solving more of the mystery that had shrouded his childhood and adolescence. It was odd. After years of things being kept secret, it seemed all anyone wanted to do was talk. Suddenly things made sense. Each story built up a picture; a picture of how terrible things had been, helping to give the answer of why he had been sheltered from things for so long. He wasn't sure he was quite ready to forgive anyone just yet, but he was starting to understand why they felt the need to keep him in the dark.

...

Being back to Hogwarts was a welcome return to normality. The pressure for NEWTs was well upon them and revising gave Teddy something to think about besides everything that had just happened. He almost dreaded the day when his exams would be over and he would have to face reality again.

When that day did come, his friends were there to provide ample Firewhisky to fuel the celebrations and politely failed to notice as his emotions threatened to get the better of him. Teddy tried to make his excuses and go to bed, however Aiden did a brilliant job of convincing him that he would feel much better if he rejoined the party, which lasted until the sun began to rise. Teddy had never been so grateful for a package as he was for the Hangover Recovery Kit that arrived from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes the next morning. Sent only with the message 'thought you might need this', he never did identify the sender.

As he lay on his bed staring at the box a good few hours later, Teddy's thoughts wandered to the Weasley that took up so much of his attention. Since their return to Hogwarts, Victoire had kept a respectful distance. She was only too aware of how much she had hurt him and by now knew him well enough to recognise that what he needed most was time and space to think. For that he was extremely grateful. It made him flinch inside every time he saw the sad look in her eyes, a look he knew he had caused, but right now he was too broken himself to be able to completely figure out his feelings and fix things between them. Instead he made Dom promise to keep an eye on her and gave Fred and James a strong talking to about leaving her alone.

...

On his penultimate day at Hogwarts he found himself wandering the familiar route to Professor Longbottom's office. He had spent so long in here over the last seven years and had come to appreciate the advice Neville gave him so much that he felt a pang of sadness that their regular conversations would be over.

As always, the Professor's beaming smile was there to greet him.

"What can I do for you, Teddy? Surely you want to spend your last afternoon her enjoying the sunshine out by the lake?"

Teddy shrugged. "I just thought I'd come and say goodbye."

"Fair enough. Tea?"

Teddy gratefully accepted the mug and sank into a chair, thinking of all the conversations that had happened in this room.

"Something's bothering you," Neville observed.

"It's just a bit scary isn't it, leaving here. I've got a bit too used to it." Teddy smiled. "I don't think that's a very cool thing to say, but it's true."

"I don't think you're the first to think it," Neville chuckled, "and you won't be the last. But there's a whole world out there for you, which is quite an exciting thing when you think about it."

"You came back."

"Well, I'm a sentimental fool. Some of the worst things in my life happened in this castle, but for some reason it's also one of the most important places in the world to me. When I joined Harry and Dumbledore's Army, I felt like I belonged to something for the first time in my life. That is an incredibly special feeling." He paused, thinking. "If you don't mind me saying, I think we have a lot in common."

Teddy didn't think that was a bad thing. Neville was one of the bravest and coolest people he knew.

"Why did you stop being an Auror?" He had been wanting to ask the question for a while, ever since his professors had queried whether he was going to follow his mum and Harry into the Auror department.

Neville looked at him, surprised by the question. "I needed to keep my sanity. So much of my life had been taken over by the war, with an obsession for catching dark wizards. When Kingsley asked us to help him it seemed like the right thing, like we were finishing off the job we started. But I wanted to close that chapter of my life. I stopped feeling satisfied when we caught someone...instead I just started to torture myself over what they'd done, wondering whether I could have stopped them earlier, prevented some of the chaos. Besides, Hannah hated me doing it; she worried too much, not without good reason mind..." He surveyed Teddy carefully. "One day you'll realise that someone else's feelings matter more than your own. You might deny it for a while, but you'll know. I reckon Harry and Ron knew it by the end of sixth year, whatever they said to anyone else. It took me a little longer, but I got there in the end. Anyway, I'm rambling. You should go and spend time with your friends, sneak into Hogsmeade or whatever they're doing."

Teddy tried to look confused, although he had heard a rumour of that plan. He rose from the chair and made towards the door.

"Thanks Professor...for everything. I'll miss coming here."

"Don't mention it, it's been a pleasure. I'm sure we'll cross paths often enough, Harry will see to that. And Teddy, he won't be offended if you decide to do something else you know. He only wants what's best for you, whether that's being an Auror or an accountant."

Teddy nodded. He had a lot of thinking to do over the next few weeks. He was almost out of the door when Neville spoke again.

"When you know, you know Teddy. Remember that."

...

Neville's words turning in his head, Teddy strode outside, confident of where he would find her. She wasn't hard to spot; the afternoon sunlight sparkled off her hair and her sing-song voice stood out amongst the others. As soon as he neared her group of friends, she spotted him and wandered over.

"Hey! I was waiting for you to come and say goodbye."

She beamed at him and he drank in her features; that beautiful smile and her mesmerising eyes. Suddenly he felt nervous. What did he want to say to her? It was all very well Neville making statements like that, but he wasn't entirely convinced he was ready to confess all right at this moment.

She sensed his hesitation. "It's okay Teddy, I get it."

Teddy frowned. How could she possibly...

"I hurt you. You've had a lot to deal with. You need time to think things over."

He found himself nodding. Had she always been so wise?

"But...I wanted to say...I...I mean...you..."

What did he want to say? He wanted to kiss her, he knew that, but at the same time he couldn't let go of the nagging feeling that there were still too many conversations that needed to come first...

"Don't say anything, Teddy. Everything will work out in the end, I promise. I'll be here for you, whenever you need me. Just do me a favour first; live life for yourself for a while. Take time to come to terms with who you are, where you've come from, where you want to go."

Tenderly she stretched up and kissed his cheek, before turning and walking back to her friends. Teddy felt a warm glow spread through his face and he began to smile. Time. It was okay, they had plenty of that. They were young. They had their whole futures ahead of them. What they would hold only time would tell, but as he caught her eye once more and saw her smile, he had a feeling things would be okay.

A/N: This chapter has been horribly frustrating to write, not least because Teddy has absolutely point blank refused to move from his miserable position in the classroom, so apologies if it seemed disjointed or flippant in any way, it was just the only way I could get something written. I was also desperate to write in a few last bits with Neville, because I have a real soft spot for him and wasn't quite ready to say goodbye.

This chapter also felt very final, which it wasn't meant to be. The plan has always been to meet with 'Nineteen Years Later' plus a few days after that, so there should be 3 or 4 chapters left to go in the vague plan in my head; hopefully inspiration will resume shortly and they shouldn't take too long.


End file.
